Hillary Clinton has told Sky News that Donald Trump will not win the next election – and Joe Biden will be re-elected whoever the Republican candidate is.
The former Democratic presidential candidate and secretary of state said “more people are onto him [Trump] and his behaviour than they were before”.
Mrs Clinton has been subjected to multiple claims by Mr Trump, including accusations of spying on him and rigging the 2016 presidential election in her favour – despite him beating her.
But Mrs Clinton said her former rival will see his comeuppance as he tries to run again for president.
Speaking to the Beth Rigby Interviews programme while in Northern Ireland, she said: “I always thought about him, if you follow him you can see it – he accuses people of things he himself is doing, it’s a form of psychological projection.
“I always thought his record in business in particular, but then as we saw him in politics and government, he was someone who cared nothing about rules. He cared nothing about the law.”
Mrs Clinton added that despite Mr Trump being indicted and becoming the first former president to face criminal charges, there is nothing in the US legal system that would prevent him from running for president again.
More on Abortion
Related Topics:
Image: Donald Trump in court this month
“But even if he gets the Republican nomination, he cannot, in my view, be re-elected president,” she said.
“I think more people are on to him and his behaviour than they were before.
Advertisement
“He has a hard core of support that is likely to help him win the Republican nomination.
“But in a general election against President Biden, I do not believe he can win.”
Image: President Biden in Ireland
‘Biden will be re-elected’
She also said Florida governor Ron De Santis, who is expected to run for president as a Republican candidate, will be unsuccessful as he is “unproven”.
“Nobody really outside of Florida knows very much about him, and in Florida, they’re watching him do crazy things,” Mrs Clinton added.
“So I actually believe that President Biden will be re-elected regardless of who the Republican nominee is.”
She dismissed suggestions Mr Biden, who is 80 years old, would be too old to be president.
“I feel like I could do the job. I’m in my mid-70s,” she added.
“I think it really should be a matter of what he has done as president.”
Image: Abortion rights activists demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court
‘A matter of time before anti-abortion laws overturned’
Mrs Clinton also addressed the issue of abortion in the US, where 13 states have banned terminations following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade last June.
This week, Mr DeSantis banned abortions in Florida after six weeks and Mrs Clinton said she thinks Republican politicians will continue to do so – to the detriment of women and the party’s own success.
She said efforts to try to limit abortion, even in cases of rape, incest and when a mother’s life is at risk, is “not only a terrible policy that should be rejected on its merits” but is also a “bad political decision”.
The former secretary of state said when people are given the chance to vote against anti-abortion laws they will.
“So I am quite unbothered by the political consequences, but extremely bothered by the real-life consequences of the fact that women will die because they are not being given appropriate reproductive health care,” she added.
“We know that the people of Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, overturned their long-time ban on abortion because of the consequences.
“So it’s only a matter of time when that will also happen in the United States.”
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:50
Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Image: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
Image: House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty of transportation for prostitution following a landmark trial in New York – but cleared of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The hip-hop mogul was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura, and other crimes including kidnapping, arson and blackmail.
Jurors decided not all the allegations were proven – but Combs still faces several years in prison after being convicted of transporting people across the US, including Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane”, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
However, with the not guilty verdict on three other more serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and two of sex trafficking – the 55-year-old has avoided a maximum possible sentence of life behind bars.
Despite a request by his defence team, he was denied bail ahead of sentencing – which has been scheduled for Friday 3 October.
Image: Combs appeared upbeat in court as the verdict was announced. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Marc Agnifilo, part of Diddy’s defence team, described the ruling as “a victory of all victories”.
Outside the courthouse, he said the jury “got the situation right, or certainly right enough”.
Another of his lawyers, Nicole Westmoreland, said: “He actually battled for his freedom, for his innocence, and he did it.
“And, you know, a lot of times, people are too afraid to do it. Today is a major win to show what the system can do.”
The mixed result from the jury came not long into their third day of deliberations. In the courtroom in Manhattan, there were cheers from Combs’s family – and the rapper himself held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at the jury, and hugged his defence lawyer Teny Geragos.
His mood seemed very different to just a day earlier – when he learned the jury had reached a verdict on four of the five charges, but were split on the racketeering charge.
After deliberating for longer on Wednesday, they came to a unanimous decision.
As the verdict sunk in, Combs appeared overwhelmed, kneeling at his chair and bowing his head in prayer once again.
“I’ll be home soon,” he said as he faced his family members. “I love you, Mum.”
Image: Combs later seemed to become overwhelmed with relief. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
The application for bail
Combs’s defence team argued that as he had been cleared of the most serious charges, he should be bailed ahead of sentencing.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo said he had been a model prisoner and added: “He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back.”
But prosecutor Maurene Comey argued Combs had a history of violence, which Judge Arub Subramanian agreed with. “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships,” he said.
After being denied bail, Combs attempted get the judge’s attention – but after consulting with Mr Agnifilo, he did not speak.
Image: Casandra ‘Cassie’ was heavily pregnant when she gave evidence at the start of the trial. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Cassie ‘paved the way’
Reacting to the verdict, Cassie’s lawyer Douglas H Wigdor said that although jurors did not find Combs guilty of sex-trafficking Cassie, she had “paved the way” for the other guilty verdicts.
“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” he said.
“We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client, who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial.”
Cassie, who testified heavily pregnant just three weeks before giving birth, displayed “unquestionable strength”, he added, and “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit”.
Videos of “freak off” sex sessions with male escorts were shown to jurors only during the seven-week trial, with the footage kept private from members of the public and media in court.
Former employees, along with escorts, hotel staff and police officers were among those to give evidence.
Cassie and Jane, who used a pseudonym, also testified. They told the court they were coerced into drug-fuelled “freak offs” – which were also referred to as “hotel nights” or “wild king nights” – with male escorts, and abused throughout their relationships.
Combs’s defence team presented a very different picture to show that sexual acts, including freak offs, were consensual.
They conceded the music star could be violent, had a bad temper and used drugs. He also had multiple relationships at the same time. But crucially, they said, while he was “not proud” of some of his behaviour, none of it made him guilty of the charges against him.
After hearing evidence of flights and travel for escorts and Cassie and Jane, paid for by Combs, as well as hotel bookings across the US and the Caribbean, jurors found him guilty of the transportation to engage in prostitution charges. However, they did not find that the allegations against the rapper amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:29
CCTV footage shows Diddy ‘attacking’ Cassie in hotel
The Cassie hotel tape
Combs, known variously as Puff Daddy, P Diddy, and Diddy over the years, was once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop – famous as a producer, founder of Bad Boy Records and manager of the late Notorious BIG in the 1990s, as well as a rapper in his own right.
As an artist, he won three Grammys during his career, and had hits including I’ll Be Missing You, Come With Me, and Bad Boy For Life.
In September 2023, he received the “global icon” award from MTV and was given the key to New York City at a ceremony in Times Square, just a few miles away from the streets in Harlem where he spent his first years.
Allegations first came to prominence in November 2023, when Cassie filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing him of coercing her into unwanted sex sessions, as well as blackmail and several incidences of violence.
The suit was settled in 24 hours – for $20m, it emerged during the trial – but months later CNN aired hotel security footageshowing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her to the floor in 2016.
He apologised after the video aired, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it.”
Footage from the hotel incident was shown during the trial.
Following the verdict, the rapper now awaits sentencing. He also still faces several civil lawsuits, most of which were filed in the wake of his arrest in September 2024.