• Politics

Hillary Clinton Takes A Break, Comes Late to Debate Stage

1 minute read

The moderators at the Democratic debate didn’t wait for Hillary Clinton to return from backstage after the first commercial break.

Her center stage podium remained empty while the ABC moderators began asking Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders about economic inequality. Several seconds after the broadcast began again, Clinton strode out onto the stage. Walking calmly to her podium, she leaned in and said, “Sorry,” to laughter and cheers from the audience.

Read More: Democrats Clash at Final Debate of 2015

This isn’t the first time the former Secretary of State has been fashionably late to the stage after a break at a debate. During the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas in October, Clinton joked to moderator Anderson Cooper after a bathroom break, “You know, it does take me a little longer. That’s all I can say.”

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.Rogers@time.com