Madeleine Albright: Just by running for president, Donald Trump has 'already done damage'

Madeleine Albright.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had a message for Donald Trump Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention: "Safeguarding freedom and security is not like hosting a TV reality show."

Because of her own time as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton "knows what it's like to step off that plane with the words 'United States of America' on it," Albright said. Securing freedom is "a complex, round-the-clock job that demands not only a steady hand and a cool head, but also a big heart," she added. "You are not just representing yourself, you are there for all of us. Hillary has displayed these qualities in every job she has ever had. Last week in Cleveland, we were reminded that her opponent possesses none of them."

Albright continued to rail against Trump, calling him out for his "strange admiration for dictators" and saying he has "already done damage just by running for president. He has undermined the fight against terrorism by alienating our Muslim partners. He has weakened our standing in the world by threatening to walk away from our friends and allies and by encouraging more countries to get nuclear weapons." If Trump wins in November, Albright warns it will be a "gift to Vladimir Putin, and given what we know about Russia's recent actions, Putin is eager to see Trump win. That should worry every American. Take it from someone who fled the Iron Curtain; I know what happens when you give the Russians a green light."

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.