Campaigns outline opposing debate expectations

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said he’s worried Trump will be allowed to make false claims without anyone fact-checking him. He said it’s not Clinton’s job to “play traffic cop,” but rather the media’s task.

“All that we’re asking is that, if Donald Trump lies, that it’s pointed out,” Mook said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“It’s unfair to ask for Hillary both to play traffic cop while with Trump, make sure that his lies are corrected, and also to present her vision for what she wants to do for the American people,” Mook said.

But Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway suggested it’s not the media’s job to do fact-checking.

“I really don’t appreciate campaigns thinking it is the job of the media to go and be these virtual fact-checkers and that these debate moderators should somehow do their bidding,” she said on ABC.

The subject of honesty has played a central role in the presidential race this year. Reporters have frequently fact-checked Trump, finding he frequently makes blatantly untrue statements. The New York Times has started using the word “lie” to describe some of Trump’s claims, igniting a debate about how the media should handle covering him.

And the Trump campaign has played up polls showing many voters don’t feel Clinton herself is honest, something Conway stressed on Sunday.

“Hillary Clinton’s casual relationship with the truth is well-known to Americans,” Conway said.

The two candidates will face off for the first time Monday night at an NBC debate moderated by “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt.

Clinton views the debate with Trump as a “special circumstance,” Mook said.

“Well, I think Donald Trump’s special,” he said. “We haven’t seen anything like this. We normally go into a debate with two candidates who have a depth of experience, who have rolled out clear, concrete plans, and who don’t lie, frankly, as frequently as Donald Trump does.”

“So we’re saying this is a special circumstance, a special debate,” Mook added.