There’s a popular saying that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. That is not a term Hillary Clinton tends to believe in, however, as she practiced to avoid a hug from Donald Trump during the debates leading up to the U.S. Presidential election. A video has surfaced showing Clinton practicing the art of keeping her distance from Trump during the debates. According to a video posted by a member of her team, these exercises were launched during preparations for September’s debates.

Hillary Clinton practices the art of avoidance in debates with Trump

As reported by the Washington Post, Philippe Reines posted the video – made on September 24 – to Twitter, noting in the comment that it isn’t easy to avoid unwanted Trump embraces and that it actually takes practice. The video shows the Democratic presidential nominee working with a stand-in debate partner, who opens up his arms to hug her, but Clinton grabs his hand instead, then attempts to escape before the inevitable hug could happen. As Clinton awkwardly tries to avoid the unwanted embrace, laughter ensues from around the room.

Clinton saw the video on Twitter on Friday morning and says she burst out laughing when watching it.

She added that she hoped it brightened her followers’ day.

The actual debate was hosted by NBC anchor Lester Holt last September and at the time Clinton and Trump merely shook hands.

While the awkwardness was avoided on that occasion, the problem came to a head in an October debate when Trump was seen to stalk behind Clinton while she was answering questions.

In an interview with the Post with Reines via email, the aide said Trump might wish to visually differentiate himself from Clinton. While the practice debate was done to have some fun and make a point, they thought it likely Trump would try to use his height and size to make an impression.

James Comey also tried to avoid hugs from Donald Trump

The New York Daily News reports that Trump’s habit of forcing hugs on people he comes into contact with recently came into the spotlight because of James Comey, the recently fired FBI director, reportedly felt uncomfortable when meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. Comey didn’t want to get too close to the president. Besides the idea of physical contact with Trump, Comey was reportedly trying to maintain a certain degree of distance between the FBI and the White House.

A friend of Comey’s reportedly told the New York Times that Comey attempted to avoid Trump’s embrace by reaching in to shake the U.S. president’s hand. However, Trump ignored the gesture and went in for a full-blown hug.

Benjamin Wittes, an associate of Comey, said it was bad enough that the former FBI director had to shake hands with Trump, but he really didn’t want a hug. Reportedly a video of the meeting showed Comey not reciprocating as Trump pulled him in for the hug, adding that the footage shows one person in the act of shaking hands, while the other party is reaching in for the full embrace.
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