During a lengthy bout of free Hillary Clinton campaign advertising on NBC's Today Show disguised as a town hall, a rather telling moment occurred shortly before a commercial break when host Savannah Guthrie reached out and squeezed Clinton's hand.
Clinton was in the midst of a lengthy answer to a fellow grandmother's question about college affordability and student debt, before a grinning Guthrie was forced to cut her off.
"I think you should be able to refinance your debt if you already have debt. It is wrong--" Clinton said before Guthrie cut in.
"Secretary Clinton, I'm sorry, we're up against a break," Guthrie said, reaching out and clasping Clinton's hand as the candidate laughed. "That will be the cliffhanger for the next one. I didn't want to interrupt you mid-sentence."
Guthrie is married to former Clinton administration official and Democratic political strategist Michael Feldman. NBC also gave Clinton the opportunity to make a cameo on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, where she played a bartender named "Val" talking to Kate McKinnon's impersonation of a frustrated Clinton. At the end of the skit, McKinnon's character remarks that "Val" was "real" and "smart" and "really nice in person."
It is unclear whether Clinton will have the opportunity to also host NBC Nightly News or moderate her own episode of Meet the Press in the coming weeks.
NBC is also known for paying former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton $600,000 a year to produce roughly a half-hour of total content for NBC Nightly News as a special correspondent.