Hillary Clinton calls Trump's effort to kill border bill a 'real danger': 'That's what authoritarians do'

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Hillary Clinton bashes Trump as 'authoritarian' for blocking border bill efforts

Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton told MSNBC it's a "real danger" for former President Trump to block border bill efforts on Capitol Hill, saying it's "what authoritarians do."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted former President Trump's "authoritarian" actions Wednesday in encouraging GOP lawmakers to abandon the border deal struck in the Senate. 

In an interview with MSNBC, Clinton called the dysfunction in Congress a "circus" and said Trump, who had been outspoken in his opposition to the bipartisan bill, was the "puppeteer." 

"I was in the Senate for eight years, and I know some of the people that are still there. I know they don't believe this," Clinton said. "And why they continue to give in to him, I don't understand. I think that the border security would have been a very good time to stand up to Trump and say 'You've been talking about it. We're delivering for you, Mr. President,' and go from there."

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called former President Trump's interference in the now-failed border deal struck in the Senate a "real danger." (Screenshot/MSNBC)

Clinton said she was surprised at the "capitulation to Trump's whims" regarding the border bill battle, saying Republicans would "rather have a problem on the border than a solution."

"Frankly, the Democrats gave up a lot to support the Republican request for greater security, which I favored actually. And then at the last minute to have Donald Trump tell people who are independently elected in their states and have an obligation to represent their constituents and their conscience, that they had to stop trying to solve the problem and go back to letting it fester for his own political purposes was pretty shocking to me," Clinton said.  

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She later continued, "There were a few profiles in courage for a little while. People standing up and say, 'What are you talking about? We want to solve this problem. That's why we're sent to Washington.' But then they capitulated and honestly, it shows a real danger that Trump poses where it doesn't matter whether you have a bipartisan agreement to solve a problem or not. If he wants it for political purposes, then he tries to and succeeds in blowing it up. That is what authoritarians do and that's yet another reason why we can't let them anywhere near the White House again."

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks after meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at their headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

When asked whether she believed Trump should be thrown off the ballot as Colorado's controversial ruling will be taken on by the Supreme Court, Clinton suggested she would rather have Trump be "roundly defeated" in November while at the same time arguing the state's decision is constitutionally sound.

"I think it'd be better if he were just roundly defeated," Clinton said. "But on the other hand, I also don't think it's wise to ignore the Constitution. So it's a really difficult problem that he has created for the courts and for states."

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Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) spearheaded negotiations of the now-failed border deal.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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"We're in this mess because we have a man who cares nothing about our Constitution, cares nothing about our country, cares nothing about real national security. All he cares about is himself. That's all he cares about. Cares about his own power, his own prestige, his own standing. And how do you say, ‘Wait a minute, this is not permitted within our system,'" Clinton later told MSNBC. " As I said, I would be perfectly satisfied if we beat him, both in the popular vote and in the Electoral College as Joe Biden did so convincingly in 2020, but we also have laws, and that's what courts are for. They have to interpret those laws."