Donald Trump should leave Hillary Clinton’s personal life out of the race ― both because it’s irrelevant and because his own is worse, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said on Sunday.
“The American people understand that Hillary Clinton and her marriage is not what’s important in this election,” McCaskill said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And if he really wants to compare his character as it relates to how he has conducted his personal life, over his adult life, with that of Hillary Clinton, even on that score she comes out ahead.”
Over the past week, Trump and his surrogates have ramped up attacks on Clinton over her husband, former President Bill Clinton’s, previous infidelity. A favorite method is to praise Trump’s restraint in not talking about the matter.
Republicans have warned that going after Hillary over her husband’s affairs could backfire, as McCaskill pointed out. Plus, the thrice-married businessman’s own personal life hasn’t been spotless, nor has his treatment and statements on women.
“I mean, this is a guy who goes on national radio and talks about his sex life in detail that is disgusting,” McCaskill said of Trump. “Who does that? Who does that? And that’s why it’s so ironic that he thinks this would be a good idea.”
Trump has insisted that the Clintons’ past is appropriate to discuss because Hillary “was an enabler, and she attacked the women who Bill Clinton mistreated afterward.”
“Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace brought up Hillary Clinton’s statements on Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers, with whom Bill Clinton had affairs. Wallace also played a clip of Hillary Clinton being asked about Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.
McCaskill said “Hillary Clinton may have defended her husband in various situations,” but has done far more for women than Trump has.
“This is really not even a close comparison of who has championed women’s rights in their life and who has not,” she said.
She also said she regretted bringing up Bill Clinton’s past in 2006, as she has said before.
Trump supporter and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended the merits of bringing up Clinton’s personal life on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“She was wrong to attack the victim,” he said.
Giuliani also defended Trump for insinuating that Hillary Clinton had actually cheated on Bill Clinton, without any evidence. Trump said Saturday that he doesn’t “even think she’s loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth.”
“I think it’s fair game,” Giuliani said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” because Clinton had criticized Trump’s past treatment of women and his racist remarks.
“That was a sarcastic remark pointing out that Bill Clinton has, you know, quite a past and Hillary Clinton has done quite a job on attacking the people who were victims of Bill Clinton,” Giuliani said.
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularlyincitespolitical violence and is a
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