Diverse cast of characters helped the candidates spin ahead of the debate

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — A motley crew of allies and aides for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, appeared in the spin room ahead of their first debate, at Hofstra University on Monday night.

Boxing promoter Don King has hit the trail for Trump with an argument aimed at minorities and women who are “left outs” in our society. He made that same case in the spin room.

“Trump brings a refreshing breeze to the climate by beating out the system, which is the real problem in this country … pitting black against white, brown against yellow,” King said.

King was convicted for stomping a man to death over a gambling debt in 1966. Yahoo News asked him what it says about Trump that the candidate has embraced King’s support in spite of his past legal troubles. King pointed to the fact that he was pardoned for the crime by the governor of Ohio in 1983 and argued that, as an African-American, he has faced a “double standard.”

“No. 1, the murder conviction was not a — it was another system, self-defense. But self-defense, ‘stand your ground’ don’t work for black people. Know what I mean? So that’s why the governor turned it down. Everybody knows. You know what I mean, because you’ve got a double standard,” King said before walking away.

Former Indiana college basketball coach Bobby Knight, who has traveled with Trump and was in the spin room, told Yahoo News he had one word of advice for Trump.

“Quiet,” Knight said.

“Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban — a vocal Trump critic whom the Clinton campaign invited to sit in the front row of the debate — was also mobbed by reporters ahead of the debate. Yahoo News asked Cuban if he would be making “faces and gestures” at Trump during the proceedings.

“Yes, I have my one special face,” Cuban said.

Though there seemed a possibility both Clinton and Trump could adopt a confrontational or mocking tone, sources close to both candidates indicated that wasn’t part of their plans for the evening.

Meanwhile, Omarosa Manigault, a former star of Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice” who has worked with his campaign on minority outreach, indicated that the Republican candidate was ready for a fight when she spoke to Yahoo News in the spin room.

“You’re going to get Donald Trump who’s ready to rumble,” Manigault said when asked about the tone he would take. “He’s ready.”