Hillary Clinton will use a customized lectern at Monday’s debate to mitigate the glaring height difference with Donald Trump.
New photos from inside the Hoftstra University debate hall show two lecterns — a short one and tall one raised internally with plywood.
“Clinton is 5’4” and Trump 6’2” and her team wanted the podium modified or a box added for her to stand on so she won’t look short next to Donald Trump,” WABC radio host Rita Cosby emailed with snaps of the doctored podiums after getting a sneak peek inside the Hofstra University debate site.
It was not stated which podium would be used by which candidate, but it appeared Clinton would stand at the shorter one so that the two candidates would hover over their podiums by roughly the same amount.
It’s not the first time short presidential candidates got a boost for a high-stakes TV audience.
In 1988, Michael Dukakis stood on a sloping platform that was hidden behind his lectern to be better matched with the taller George H.W. Bush.
Jimmy Carter argued the “belt buckle rule” to debate negotiators in his 1976 matchup with Gerald Ford, who was 3½ inches taller. Ford’s lectern reached 2½ inches above his belt, under the agreement, and Carter’s 1½ inches.
“The differences were derived by measuring the inches between the floor and the taller candidate’s belt buckle and then splitting the difference,” according to the book “Presidential Debates: The Challenge of Creating an Informed Electorate.”