The former candidate said Biden was right to stand aside

Hillary Clinton told the BBC that Joe Biden “did the right thing” by standing aside in the US presidential election after his stumbling debate performance against Donald Trump earlier this year.

The former first lady said in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I was with him a week before that disastrous debate and I don’t see any reason why he should resign.” .

“But once that argument happened, he couldn’t recover and he did the right thing,” she said.

Clinton, who ran unsuccessfully for president against Trump in 2016, said she believes “the future of democracy is at stake” in a November election that polls show is a close contest. stressful period.

She has wholeheartedly supported Kamala Harris, who replaced President Biden as the Democratic nominee, calling on her to “defeat Donald Trump to break the fever he has caused in our political system.” we”.

“The two candidates have presented extremely different agendas in terms of where they want to take our country,” Mrs. Clinton told Today host Amol Rajan in an interview with the BBC. .

The election will have implications far beyond the United States, she said, including “whether we continue to support Ukraine, whether we can reach some viable solutions in the Middle East.” and many other issues”.

Trump had previously indicated that he would cut off US aid to Ukraine. Afterward met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York on Friday, the former US president said he had a “very good relationship” with both Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

“We both want to see a fair deal done,” Mr. Trump said. The war should stop and the president (Zelensky) wants it to stop, and I’m sure President Putin also wants it to stop and that’s a good thing.” combination.”

Clinton, who served as secretary of state in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013, also criticized Trump’s promise to begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants if elected.

“Let’s start with a million,” his vice presidential pick JD Vance talked about the plan in August. “That’s where Kamala Harris failed. And then we can go from there.”

“He will have a military presence [in US cities] to achieve your goals,” Clinton said Monday. “If you look a certain way, if you talk a certain way, you will be subject to these draconian measures.”

When asked what drives Trump’s support, she told the BBC that “people support him for many different reasons” including feeling “ignored” and “unseen” or “unseen”. The economy doesn’t suit them.”

“I think our problem, frankly, is that we’re not the most effective messengers,” she said of the Democratic Party. “About what we see and what we’re trying to do to address these real and legitimate concerns that people have. I recognize and accept my part of the responsibility.”

“It’s difficult in a time where politicians are expected to be more interesting, where social media demands that you be outrageous, that you have to say something groundbreaking, to get the job done,” Clinton said. The hard, boring thing is actually getting the job done.”

She was asked if she felt Biden should do so withdrew from the race earlier than he did in July, she strongly rejected the offer.

But she said she thought Harris had “performed impeccably” since then.

The election will be held on November 5 and the new president will take office in January.

Polls are tight in seven states considered key in the contest, with just one or two percentage points separating the two candidates.

Clinton, 76, was the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major political party when she ran against Trump in 2016. Her husband, Bill Clinton, whom she married in 1975, was president system from 1993 to 2001.

She is currently promoting a new memoir, a collection of essays called “Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love and Freedom.”