Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued this week that if former President Donald Trump was elected to another term in November he may use violence against his political opponents. Clinton’s comments about her 2016 opponent come as Trump established a lead in a number of national and statewide polls.
Clinton said during a recent podcast interview that Trump had a “bromance” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She cited comments from former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull accusing Trump of liking the Russian President because Putin can “kill his opposition, imprison his opposition, drive, you know, journalists and others into exile, rule without any check or balance.”
“That’s what Trump really wants,” she said.
Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump, who has been targeted with multiple politically motivated indictments, wants to kill and imprison his opponents.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 20, 2024
Clinton also accused Trump of seeing only “strong men leaders.”
He sees Putin, he sees Xi, he sees Kim Jong-un in North Korea. Those are the people he is modeling himself after, and we’ve been down this road in our, you know, world history,” she said. “We sure don’t want to go down that again.”
During and following the 2016 presidential campaign, Clinton and some backers accused Trump of receiving assistance from the Russian government. However, following an extensive investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller he determined that the Trump campaign did not collude with the Russian government.
In addition, special counsel John Durham determined last year that the investigation into the former president regarding such Russia allegations should not have occurred.
Included in Durham’s report were assertions that Clinton’s campaign created a narrative that the former president was tied to Russia without appropriate evidence.
Clinton’s comments came amid positive news for the former president. Trump’s campaign reported a substantial donation haul following the start of his trial in New York linked to his alleged brief relationship with former adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump has also gained in a number of polls, including those in swing states that could ultimately decide the 2024 election especially following concerns about President Joe Biden’s health.
