Hits and misses of the first presidential debate
Panel debates the candidates' stances on 'Hannity'
Donald Trump's case of the sniffles at Monday's debate prompted a bizarre charge from onetime Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who mused on Twitter that the GOP candidate may be a "coke user."
While much of the pre-debate hype focused on whether Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who Dean supports, would have a coughing fit, it turned out Trump was the one with respiratory issues. The developer-turned-politician repeatedly sniffed into the microphone as he addressed the auditorium at New York's Hofstra University and a TV audience that could approach 100 million.
Howard Dean accuses Donald Trump of being a "coke user." Not a parody account. A real tweet from @GovHowardDean. #Debatenight Shameful. pic.twitter.com/Crf7tSlayn
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) September 27, 2016
"Notice Trump sniffing all the time," tweeted Dean. "Coke user?"
![Health Care Overhaul Dean Moran](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/09/1200/675/dean_howard2_082509.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Howard Dean thinks Donald Trump could be a cocaine user. (The Associated Press)
The remark quickly gained more than 7,000 retweets and more 7,772 likes. But it also prompted a wave of criticism directed at the former Vermont governor.
“Said the Vermont acid freak,” responded Twitter user Mikey Adams.
“It’s a stupid comment from someone who should be taking the high ground,” tweeted Ryan Miller.
Trump famously claims to have never touched alcohol or smoked so much as a cigarette, so Dean's suggestion the 70-year-old turned to hard drugs on the biggest night of his nascent political career came out of left field.
Trump told Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" Tuesday that there were "no sniffles" and that he didn't have a cold.
"There no sniffles," Trump said in a phone interview. "Maybe it was the mic. There were no allergies, no cold."
Clinton, who nearly collapsed earlier this month during a 9/11 memorial ceremony amid a bout with pneumonia and has had several coughing fits while on the campaign trail, appeared healthy and sharp during the 90-minute debate.