Clinton jokes she could ‘obviously’ beat Trump in 2020 ‘rematch’

PTI, Oct 9, 2019, 11:05 AM IST

Washington: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has trolled President Donald Trump, joking that she can defeat him in a 2020 rematch after he mockingly said that the former first lady should run for the president again.

“Obviously, I can beat him again,” Clinton joked during an interview on PBS News Hour on Tuesday when asked about a tweet from Trump in which he suggested that she run against him in the 2020 polls.

Clinton, who has had unsuccessful bid twice in 2008 and 2016 elections has ruled out a third run for the White House.

Referring to the frequent tweets by Trump against her, Clinton said, It truly is remarkable how obsessed he remains with me.”

Clinton’s comments came as Trump continued to lash out at Democrats over a formal impeachment inquiry launched in the House. He targeted Clinton in a tweet on Tuesday, saying he thought she “should enter the race to try and steal it away from Uber Left Elizabeth Warren.”

I think that Crooked Hillary Clinton should enter the race to try and steal it away from Uber Left Elizabeth Warren. Only one condition. The Crooked one must explain all of her high crimes and misdemeanors including how & why she deleted 33,000 Emails AFTER getting C Subpoena!”

Later, Clinton responded tweeting, “Don’t tempt me. Do your job.
This latest tweet is so typical of him. Nothing has been more examined and looked at than my e-mails. We all know that. So he’s either lying or delusional, or both. There was no subpoena, as he says in a tweet this morning. So maybe there does need to be a rematch, Clinton told PBS news.

But, just seriously, I don’t understand, I don’t think anybody understands what motivates him, other than personal grievance, other than seeking adulation, she said.

Clinton said that she had warned her countrymen during the 2016 presidential elections against Trump. I said during the campaign, there was no other Donald Trump. What you saw was what you were going to get. And I think a lot of Americans understandably thought, oh, no, come on. That can’t possibly be the case. Once he’s in the office, he will certainly moderate his behaviour, she said.

Well, we have seen, no, he hasn’t, she said.

Responding to questions on impeachment inquiry against Trump, she said it is really important to respect the process and to support the opening of the inquiry, and the gathering of evidence, and then the weighing of that evidence.

From my perspective, it appears as though what the House is doing is very much in line with the appropriate use of the impeachment power. So, I they don’t want to jump to a conclusion, she said.

It appears to me that there is evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of justice and contempt of Congress. But we do want the House impeachment inquiry to proceed in a way that tries to build credibility with the American people and also with Republican members of the House and the Senate, Clinton said.

Supporting the impeachment inquiry against Trump, Clinton said that as a former secretary of state, she just want Americans to stop and think, why are we allowing this president to, in effect, undermine our sovereignty, turning over foreign policy to foreign governments, what he just did with the Kurds, empowering Turkey and Russia against our staunchest allies in the Middle East?

Why are we sitting silently by and watching this president do Vladimir Putin’s bidding? I mean, there is no happier man in the world right now than Putin, she said.

Why are we watching this unfortunate trade battle with China now being infected with his plea that China investigate Biden? This is no longer just about the crazy stuff he says and does that everybody shrugs at or worries about. This is a direct threat to the national security of America, she claimed.

That’s what has gotten people’s attention. So, certainly among Democrats, but now increasingly among self-identified independents, and even growing numbers of Republicans are saying, wait a minute, this must go forward, she said.

A whistleblower complaint from an intelligence official is at the centre of the House’s impeachment inquiry. The complaint accuses Trump of a broad effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate.