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The strangest moment of the debate so far: Hillary Clinton was missing

Libby Nelson
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.

The strangest moment of the Democratic presidential debate Saturday night happened after a commercial break, when the debate resumed — without front-runner Hillary Clinton:

It’s not clear where Clinton was (bathroom?), but her absence wasn’t enough to get the moderators to stall for the additional minute or so it took for her to walk in.

“We want to turn to American jobs, wages, and raises in this country,” moderator David Muir said. “And do we believe Secretary Clinton will be coming around the corner any minute. But in the meantime we want to start with this eye-opening number…”

“Sorry,” she said, when she finally arrived.

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