The Trump Files: The Many Times Donald Praised Hillary Clinton

Ivylise Simones

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Until the election, we’re bringing you “The Trump Files,” a daily dose of telling episodes, strange but true stories, or curious scenes from the life of GOP nominee Donald Trump.

It’s Election Day. Still undecided about whom to vote for? Perhaps these words of endorsement might help you make up your mind. They’re about Hillary Clinton—and they came from Donald Trump. He’s lavishly praised Clinton and her husband for years, including the time when he…

…told a reporter that “Hillary Clinton is a great woman. And a good woman.”

“I think she’s going to go down, at a minimum, as a great senator,” Trump told NY1, a New York cable news channel, after Clinton lost the Democratic primary to Barack Obama in 2008. “I think she is a great wife to a president, and I think Bill Clinton was a great president.”

…talked up Hillary in his book.

Trump made sure to include a photo of himself with Clinton within the first 10 pages of his 1997 book, The Art of the Comeback, along with a fawning caption. “The First Lady is a wonderful woman who has handled pressure incredibly well,” he wrote.

Trump Clinton

 

…praised her hard work during a Fox News interview.

“I really like her and her husband both a lot,” Trump told Greta Van Susteren during the 2012 campaign. “I think she really works hard. And I think, again, she’s given an agenda, it is not all of her, but I think she really works hard and I think she does a good job. I like her.”

…wanted Clinton to win the nomination in 2008.

Wolf Blitzer asked Trump in 2007 about Clinton, his current sidekick Rudy Giuliani, and the pair’s chances of getting presidential nominations. “They’re both terrific people, and I hope they both get the nomination,” Trump said, adding at another point that “I know her…very well. She’s very talented.”

blogged that she’d make a great president.

“I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president or vice-president,” Trump wrote in a 2008 blog post discovered by BuzzFeed.

…wanted to help her and Bill buy a house.

Trump lamented to Larry King in 1999 that the Clintons hadn’t turned to him for help in buying a house in Chappaqua, New York. “I just wish I could have maybe represented him in buying the house, and her, because I think I could save them about $600,000 or $700,000,” he said. Trump was exploring a run for the Reform Party presidential nomination at the time, but he still told King of his future political rival, “I like her very much.”

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate