Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Donald Trump was not qualified to be president — calling the consequences of his statements and decisions "dangerous" — and that the presumptive Republican nominee could not have made an informed decision to pursue Osama bin Laden.
"Based on what we know now, he could make it perhaps on evidence that wasn't clear," the Democratic front-runner told Chris Cuomo on
CNN. "He could say a lot of things that might have given notice.
"Just based on the way he has behaved and spoken and the policies he has literally thrown out there, I think it adds up to a very troubling picture," Clinton said.
"Do we go after Bin Laden or not? I was part of that. Was it a clear, easy choice? Of course not. It had to be carefully parsed and analyzed, and then we gave our opinions — and it was up to the president to decide.
"I know how hard this job is," Clinton said. "I know that we need steadiness as well as strength and smarts in it.
"And I have concluded that he's not qualified to be president of the United States."
The former secretary of state slammed Trump throughout the interview, using such terms as "irresponsible, reckless, dangerous" to describe his positions and rhetoric — even saying that they are fueling the rise of Islamic terrorism.
"When you say, we're going to bar all Muslims, you are sending a message to the Muslim world — and you're also sending a message to the terrorists," she told Cuomo. "We now do have evidence, we have seen, how Donald Trump is being used to essentially be a recruiter for more people to join the cause of terrorism."
Clinton said that she was "going after" Trump — equating it to standing up to a bully — and that she did not feel compelled to defend her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
"No. Not at all," she said. "I know that's exactly what he is pushing — and I'm not going to be responding."
"That's exactly what I'm doing and the campaign is doing — and not so much for what he says about me," Clinton responded to Cuomo's "bully" remark. "I am really used to it. I have very thick skin.
"It's what he says about other people. It's his demeaning comments about all kinds of women. His offensive comments about immigrants. His mocking someone with a disability. The way he talks about Muslims.
"How really unmoored he is talking about foreign policy and the loose cannon he's turned out to be with national security.
"So, I'm going after him. I'm going after him exactly on those issues and statements that are divisive and dangerous.
"That's what the American people want to see — not an argument between two people, but what is it you think you're bringing to the table, asking for our vote for president."
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