So why did Trump "hold back" on attacking Hillary about Bill?

[yellowcanine]

http://time.com/4511049/presidential-debate-donald-trump-rally/

“I was also holding back, “ Trump said, in the familiar wording of a vanquished schoolyard bully. “I didn’t want to do anything to embarrass her.”

So we know this is not the reason. I am thinking two possibilities:

1) He knows she has a comeback ready which will squash him like the toad he is.

2) The bully in him doesn't quite know how to directly attack a strong woman and his self esteem would suffer greatly when he makes a hash of it.

[PearliePoo2]

1. It could be because the daughter that he "adores" is best friends with Chelsea.

She may have asked him not to go there.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. He knows that she has an answer ready for that kind of remark and he would come out looking

foolish, at best. He should think carefully before he opens that can of worms.

[Moostache]

3. This is a right wing talking point that goes all the way back to 2008

The McCain-Palin ticket was widely slammed for "not taking off the gloves" and getting MORE negative, sooner with Obama. Romney faced the same criticism, although he was often too busy defending HIMSELF (47%, Corporations are people my friend, Binders of women, etc.)...

Trump is just a combination of the two and his supporters EXPECT nonsensical, 'trumped' up allegations and attacks. He was assuring them as much as anyone that he is going to go "full-retard" in the next debate...again borrowing from President Obama "Proceed Donald, proceed..."

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. It was all a dimwitted strategy to blunt the force of Clinton's negative ads

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512447975

[Rocknrule]

5. His next attack will be that Hillary has orange skin

and wants to sleep with her daughter

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Transparent very old trick: Bring something up by saying you're not going to bring it up. Loser. nt

[DLevine]

9. Yup. He does it all the time. nt

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. Like this?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Yup.

[LexVegas]

7. Because he was scared shitless to take more ass whoopin from Hillary Clinton. nt

[demmiblue]

8. Two reasons, imo:

1) Having some semblance of a talking point for him/his campaign team post-debate to deflect talk about his poor performance, and

2) Actually attacking her by planting the seed in the viewer's minds. Let's face it, it actually was an attack... a passive-agressive one, at that.

[yellowcanine]

17. Yes it was a passive aggressive snake in the grass kind of attack.

Because only someone who has been living under a rock for the past 25 years would not know what he was talking about.

[Hortensis]

12. Lol. His campaign staff and children begged him not to,

same as when they begged him to rescind his invitation to Gennifer Flowers. It's a losing strategy, extremely, extremely low and unpresidential and pleasing no one but his hard-core supporters.

I don't normally quote Republican operatives, but Rick Wilson on last night's O'Donnell said, "There is no "better" Donald Trump to bring out." (By debate prep.) "He had 20 minutes of prep for 90 minutes of debate," and once he used it up...

And on Trump's attempt at damage control the next morning, "...he set the dumpster on fire and then he poured tires on top. ... I can't imagine Kellyanne Conway ... wasn't like lying on her hotel room floor in a fetal position surrounded by mini-bar bottles."

I hope so. And I hope she ran out before passing out. No excuses for these beyond-deplorables.

[randr]

13. Please bring it on Donny

I would feel bad not to hear her retort.

[beachbumbob]

14. He is a bully and a coward...Hillary been expecting this...and I hope

He does in next debate. Another crushing defeat for him...

[pnwmom]

15. Because someone he cares about -- Ivanka most likely -- made him promise not to.

She's smart enough to know it would backfire on him, but she probably said it would be kinder to Chelsea.

[Orsino]

16. Trump is all gonna-woulda-coulda, and never executes.

He always promises, and always fails to deliver.

[Cerridwen]

18. Because this way, he leaves it hanging out there; hanging over her head...

Because this way, he leaves it hanging out there; hanging over her head, hanging over the campaign's head, and leaving it with the audience waiting for it.

By not saying it at the time and making a point of saying he didn't say it at the time, it's a tactic guaranteed to keep it in the back of everyone's mind. "When will he say it?" "Is he going to say it this time?" "How will she respond?" "How should she respond?" "Why hasn't he said it yet?"

It's standard showmanship; create the tension, drag it out as long as possible.

Operation mind fuck.

If I hold this opinion, Hillary's campaign sure as hell is aware of this aspect as well.

[matt819]

19. Hang on just a sec

He didn't hold back.

He took his typical bully approach and said he wasn't going to insult, as in some people are saying, or I'm not saying what some people are saying. He made his point, as childish and bullying as it was. So, no credit to Trump for "holding back." He's a douche. Hey, I'm not saying that. Some people are. Many people. Good people. The best people, believe me. But not me. I'm not saying he's a douche. And give me your lunch money, or else.

[meow2u3]

20. He's a coward who would have had his serial adultery thrown back in his face

In other words, he wasn't gracious at all. He was too chickenshit to mention Bill's affair to HRC's face because she would have handed him his keister on a silver platter.

[mackdaddy]

21. October 14 - Pretrial on Trump rape allegation. Recap of three rape-related allegations

Could be this has something to do with it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512450945