Hillary Clinton: ‘Waste of time’ to try to refute Trump arguments in debate

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it would be a “waste of time” to attempt to debunk former President Trump’s arguments in a debate.

Clinton explained in an opinion piece, published Tuesday in The New York Times, that she is the only person to have debated both President Biden and Trump, adding that she knows “the excruciating pressure of walking onto that stage.” She debated Biden when he was a senator during the 2008 Democratic primary and debated Trump three times during the 2016 presidential election.

“It is a waste of time to try to refute Mr. Trump’s arguments like in a normal debate,” she wrote. “It’s nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are. He starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather This has gotten only worse in the years since we debated.”

“I was not surprised that after a recent meeting, several chief executives said that Mr. Trump, as one journalist described it, ‘could not keep a straight thought’ and was ‘all over the map,'” Clinton continued. “Yet expectations for him are so low that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential.”

The former first lady also hit Trump over his debate performance against her and referenced him looming over her on the debate stage.

The first presidential debate of the 2024 election, hosted by CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will take place Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT. Biden and Trump have each been preparing for the showdown later this week, with the former president already priming his response to a potentially strong performance from the incumbent.

Clinton said Trump’s strategies will “fall flat” if Biden “is as direct and forceful as he was” during his State of the Union address.

She advised readers to pay attention to three things in the debate: listen to how each candidate talks about people, “focus on the fundamentals,” and think about the choice between “chaos and competence.”

“This election is between a convicted criminal out for revenge and a president who delivers results for the American people,” she added. “No matter what happens in the debate, that’s an easy choice.”

Clinton has repeatedly criticized Trump ahead of November’s election, saying in April that all Americans should fear the “kind of threats” made by the former president. She also joined Biden alongside her husband, former President Clinton, at a fundraiser earlier this month that raised more than $8 million.

Steven Cheung, the communications director for the Trump campaign, took aim at Clinton when reached for comment by The Hill. 

“Hillary Clinton is a sore loser who still obsesses over her devastating loss in 2016 when her coronation for president was shattered by millions of Americans rejecting her candidacy. Instead of being ashamed, embarrassed, and accepting of her defeat, she has now allowed Trump Derangement Syndrome to rot her brain as she devises ways to stay relevant when the world has passed her by. Joe Biden should look over his shoulder because if he’s not careful, he might get Hillary’d,” Cheung said.

— Updated at 3:41 p.m.