Clinton slams Trump's 'scary' praise for Putin in tarmac press conference

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published 8 September 2016

Hillary Clinton was quick to resurface Donald Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Thursday morning press conference from the tarmac in White Plains, New York, following Wednesday night's Commander-in-Chief Forum. During the presidential debate preview, in which the candidates fielded questions related to national security, Trump lauded Putin's "82 percent approval rating" and his "great control over his country."

Clinton, in what marked her first presser in more than 270 days, contended that Trump's praise for Putin was not only "unpatriotic," but it was also downright frightening. "It is scary, because it suggests that he will let Putin do whatever Putin wants to do," Clinton said, pondering what former President Ronald Reagan would think of a Republican nominee who "heaps praise on Russia's president."

Before wrapping up, Clinton managed to squeeze in one more dig — this time at Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, who responded to a question Thursday morning about Aleppo, a city at the center of Syria's civil war by asking, "What is Aleppo?" "Well," Clinton said, "you can look on the map and find Aleppo."