During a conversation with Financial Times editor Edward Luce at the FT Weekend Festival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her belief that former President Donald Trump will not win the 2024 presidential election. Luce initiated a thought experiment by asking Clinton about the potential consequences of a Trump victory in Ukraine. However, Clinton expanded her response to highlight the broader implications of a Trump win.
Clinton stated that if Trump were to win, she believed it would spell the end of democracy in the United States and have dire consequences for Ukraine. She suggested that Trump would withdraw the U.S. from NATO, as he had previously withdrawn from international agreements such as the Iran deal and the Paris Accords. Clinton warned that the list of potential disastrous outcomes under Trump’s leadership was extensive and expressed her view that sensible individuals should not support his candidacy.
Clinton also mentioned her own experience in the 2016 election, where she won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes but lost the Electoral College by a margin of 77,000 votes. She highlighted the Electoral College as an anachronism that can lead to the candidate with the popular vote losing the presidency. Clinton noted that President Joe Biden faced a similar situation in 2020 but emerged as the winner. She described Trump as angry and suggested that his attempts to manipulate the Electoral College had failed, leading to his resentment.
Ultimately, Clinton emphasized the importance of preventing a Trump victory in the 2024 election, expressing her belief that he cannot win. However, she acknowledged the uncertainties of the Electoral College and stressed the need to take action to ensure that such an outcome does not occur.
EDWARD LUCE: He talks about 2024 being the final battle. He talks about being I am your retribution. He says America’s enemy is within. The thought experiment is. But I’m not asking you to endorse this scenario. But what would happen if Trump won, first of all, in Ukraine? What would happen to the Ukraine situation?
HILLARY CLINTON: Look, if Trump wins, which I do not believe will happen, let me just quickly say that. If in some scenario that were to happen, it would be the end of democracy in United States, it would be the end of Ukraine. It would become a… You know, he will pull us out of NATO if he wins again. And just like he pulled us out of the Iran deal, he pulled us out of the Paris Accords. He will pull us out of NATO.
And so when you asked this question, I mean, the list of potentially disastrous outcomes is longer than I have time to go over with you, but… It’s why we can’t permit it to happen. Why any sensible person who looks at that former president and says, “Oh, let’s do this again,” needs an intervention. (Laughter)
Because he’s only gotten worse. He is so angry that every one of their maneuvers to win the Electoral College… And remember, the Electoral College, is a terrible anachronism that, you know, has caused like, you know, people like me who win the popular vote not to be president. But that’s beside the point.
So think about this. I win by nearly 3 million votes over Trump in 2016. I lose the Electoral College by 77,000 votes. Biden wins by over 7 million votes, wins the Electoral College by 100,000 votes. It was the mirror image of what happened to me. Only I was on the losing side and Biden was on the winning side. And I know from, you know, people who have reported to me who were talking to Trump and his family during that time, they thought they had Georgia totally set. They thought they had Arizona totally set. They had been, you know, working hand in hand with Republican governors and legislatures to limit the vote as much as they possibly could. And they certainly, you know, thought that Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania were, you know, potential opportunities for them. So.
He is angry because his… His game failed. His rigged game to steal the election. I mean, you can always tell what Trump is really doing because he will accuse somebody else of doing it. It’s projection unlike anything I’ve seen in public life. They thought they would pull out the Electoral College. It didn’t matter that he was going to lose by over 7 million votes. It didn’t matter because they don’t believe in majority rule. They believe in pluralities that they determine and they are going to do everything they can to prevent people who don’t vote for them from voting.
So, I don’t think he can win. But the Electoral College is always a, you know, a difficult outcome to predict. So, yeah, we have to stop that from happening!
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