Clinton Camp Blasts Trump’s ‘Cavalier Compliments’ For Dictators

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Indianapolis, Sunday, June 26, 2016, on the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, America's economy, and other... Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Indianapolis, Sunday, June 26, 2016, on the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, America's economy, and other issues. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) MORE LESS
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The Hillary Clinton campaign on Tuesday night criticized Donald Trump’s comments about Saddam Hussein, calling out the Republican presidential candidate’s tendency to praise “brutal strongmen.”

“Donald Trump’s praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds. He has applauded the strength China showed in the Tiananmen Square massacre, offered admiration for Kim Jong Un’s murderous consolidation of power in North Korea, and consistently lavished praise on Vladimir Putin,” Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser to Clinton, said in a statement. “Tonight, Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights.”

During a Tuesday evening rally, Trump said that Hussein was a “bad guy. But he then said that the Iraqi dictator was “so good” at killing terrorists, noting that he “didn’t read them the rights.”

The Clinton campaign pointed out that Hussein helped support terrorist groups.

“In reality, Hussein’s regime was a sponsor of terrorism – one that paid families of suicide bombers who attacked Israelis, among other crimes,” Sullivan said in the statement. “Trump’s cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrate how dangerous he would be as Commander-in-Chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks.”

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