Criticizing everything from his national security proposals to his rhetoric towards immigrants, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said her Republican rival Donald Trump was “unqualified” to serve as president.
“Based on the way he has behaved and how he has spoken and the policies he has literally thrown out there, I think it adds up to a very troubling picture,” Clinton told CNN’s Chris Cuomo in an extended sit-down interview that aired Thursday.
The former secretary of state reserved particularly scathing criticism for Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigration, advocacy for nuclear proliferation and suggestion that he would meet with North Korea’s authoritarian leader Kim Jung Un.
“When you run for president of the United States, the entire world is listening and watching,” Clinton said. “So when you say, we’re going to bar all Muslims, you are sending a message to the Muslim world and you’re also sending a message to the terrorists because we now do have evidence, we have seen how Donald Trump is being used to essentially be a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism.”
“So, I think if you go through many of his irresponsible, reckless, dangerous comments, it’s not just somebody saying something off the cuff,” she continued. “We all misstate things and may not be as careful phrasing what we say. This is a pattern, a pattern going on now for months.”
As a result, Clinton said, “I have concluded he’s not qualified to be president of the United States.”
