With the first of three presidential debates around the corner, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is urging moderators to quickly correct any lies from Donald Trump.

“This is the role of the moderator … to call out those lies, and do it in real time,” said Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director, on a Friday conference call with reporters. “To not do that is to give Donald Trump a very unfair advantage.”

The campaign released a long list of Trump statements that were ruled false by fact checkers, such as his claim he opposed the 2003 Iraq War before it started or that Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment.

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“Any candidate who tells this many lies clearly can’t win the debate on the merits,” Palmieri said. “His level of lying is unprecedented in American politics.”

The conference call was also an attempt by Clinton’s campaign to set expectations for the debate. With so much focus on Trump’s temperament, Palmieri said he shouldn’t receive high marks just because he avoids becoming “unhinged.”

The first debate, which takes place Monday at Hofstra University, is being moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt.

Trump has said moderators shouldn’t try to correct the candidates.

“I don’t think you want that,” he told Fox News on Thursday. “No, I think you have to have somebody that just lets ’em argue it out.”

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(c) 2016 Los Angeles Times

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