LONDON ― Hillary Clinton drew parallels between Harvey Weinstein and President Donald Trump, calling the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s behavior “disgusting” and “heartbreaking” ― just like the person once caught on camera bragging about sexually assaulting women.
In an interview Sunday with Britain’s “The Andrew Marr Show,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee commended women who have stepped forward to share stories of their encounters with Weinstein and emphasized that this type of lecherous behavior can’t be tolerated in any industry, including politics.
“After all, we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office,” she said. Trump was captured in a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape bragging he can kiss women and “grab them by the pussy” without invitation.
Clinton, whose political campaigns have been the recipient of large donations from Weinstein over the years, remained silent for several days after a New York Times bombshell report told stories of women who said the famed producer had sexually harassed or assaulted them. Clinton released a statement mentioning the topic several days later.
Clinton also spoke in London about Trump’s escalation of tensions with North Korea. She said she worries about the possibility of him launching a nuclear attack against the rogue regime.
“A lot of people thought I was probably exaggerating it, but now we are worried and Congress is worried about whether they can take that power away from Trump so that in a moment of pique he doesn’t pick up that phone and call whoever is sitting in the control center today,” Clinton told the audience at Sunday’s London Literature Festival. “I tried to raise it before and I’m raising it again here. It’s why members of Congress on both sides are trying to work out how they can contain him.”
She added: “I had big differences with so many of the other people who have been president during my lifetime, but I never worried about that.”
Trump’s administration will pursue a diplomatic solution with North Korea “until the first bomb drops,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday. This approach directly contradicts Trump’s statements on Twitter recently, in which he derided Tillerson for wasting his time trying to negotiate with “Little Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un.
Clinton also took a moment to defend National Football League players who choose to kneel during the national anthem in protest.
“Actually, kneeling is a reverent position,” Clinton said. “It was to demonstrate in a peaceful way against racism and injustice in our criminal system.That’s not against our anthem or our flag.”