Claiming that his performance at the first round in the first of a series of three presidential debates was affected due to a defective microphone, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump questioned if it was orchestrated deliberately.
"They gave me a defective mic. Did you notice that? My mic was defective within the room. I wonder, was that on purpose? Was that on purpose? But I had a mic that didn't work properly," the 70-year-old real estate tycoon was quoted telling reporters after the debate.
Trump has numerously joked on the campaign trail about faulty microphone and has remarked that he may refuse to pay for the audio rental.
"The mic just shot. That was a weird sound, wasn't it? So I wouldn't pay the mic guy and they'll say, isn't that terrible. He didn't pay his bills. When people don't do a good job for me I don't pay them. It's one of those things," Trump was quoted repeating the joke last week during a campaign event in Kenansville, North Carolina.
The only notable audio interference, however, was the sound of some sniffing by Trump that was picked up on television and subsequently widely mocked on social media.
Trump's claim about the microphone is not the first time he has suggested that outside forces have conspired against him.
In August, he told a rally in Ohio that he feared the general election "is going to be rigged", adding that he had been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly.
Debate winner?
Remarking on his performance at the debate, Trump said he felt he did well against his Democratic rival Clinton. "I thought it was a very fair debate. The polls are all saying we won," Trump said.
However, contradictory to Trump's self assessment, with a massive 62% of voters, the CNN/ORC poll declared Clinton as the clear winner. Trump, on the other hand, was deemed winner by only 27%.
