Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he’d welcome a debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential front-runner.
“Well, I probably can think of nobody I’d rather debate. She was the worst secretary of state in the history of this country,” Mr. Trump said Thursday on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”
He added that he thinks current Secretary of State John Kerry will top her because of the Iranian nuclear deal.
“But Hillary, until now, was the worst secretary of state in history,” Mr. Trump said. “I think beating her in a debate would be one of the easy challenges of my life — that I can say.”
Mrs. Clinton said this week in Ohio that “there is a particular candidate who just seems to delight in insulting women every chance he gets.”
“I have to say, if he emerges, I would love to debate him,” she said.
SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, slide in polls raising doubt among congressional backers
Asked about past positive comments he’s made about her tenure as the nation’s top diplomat, Mr. Trump said that as a businessman it was his “obligation” to get along with politicians.
“I’m not going to say bad things about major politicians in this country when I’m running a major company where I need things,” he said. “I mean, I have international trade, I have international businesses — I’m not going to go around saying bad things about people. There was no reason to.”
“Now, when you look at the result of her labor, it’s been a disaster,” Mr. Trump said. “The world has blown up during her regime, and I think everybody would pretty much agree with me. But again, it certainly has not gotten any better since she left.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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