Hillary Clinton Slams Trump’s “Authoritarian Playbook” at Clinton Global Event
At the Clinton Global Initiative 2025 meeting in New York, Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump over media suppression while addressing U.S. democracy challenges.
New York, September 24 EST: Hillary Clinton has been everywhere this week, cutting at Donald Trump, warning against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and marking the 20th anniversary of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. The mix of attacks, grudging praise, and policy talk is vintage Clinton: sharp, complicated, and impossible to ignore.
Trump and the Kimmel Affair
Her fiercest strike came over the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night host briefly taken off air after the FCC fielded complaints tied to Trump’s relentless jabs. According to The Daily Beast, Clinton accused Trump of leaning on an “authoritarian playbook,” an effort to muzzle critics, not debate them.
That is a line she has been rehearsing for years. In 2016, Clinton warned that Trump admired autocrats for their ability to bend institutions to their will. Nine years later, she is painting the Kimmel dust-up as evidence that nothing has changed.
An Unusual Note of Praise
Still, Clinton is not reflexive. On Russia, she startled some observers by giving Trump credit. His abrupt turn toward a tougher line on Vladimir Putin, she said, shows recognition that “Putin only respects strength.”
Coming from one of Washington’s most consistent Russia hawks, that nod matters. Clinton has pressed for sanctions and stronger NATO coordination since long before it was consensus. Her praise here signals less about Trump than about the stakes she sees in Europe.
Civility With an Edge
At home, Clinton tried to strike a statesmanlike chord by urging Americans to “stop demonizing each other.” But as AOL noted, she quickly pivoted to blame Republicans for coddling Trump and indulging extremism.
That tension captures the bind many Democrats face. They call for civility while refusing to let Republican behavior go unnamed. Clinton’s phrasing gave her critics an opening, but it also reflected the imbalance she has been pointing out for years: polarization is not a 50–50 problem.
RFK Jr. in the Crosshairs
Clinton also reserved fire for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose independent campaign has lost steam but still commands headlines. She called his claims “very destructive,” warning that his conspiracies about vaccines and science “confused many Americans” and could “cost lives,” according to Mediaite.
For Democrats, Kennedy may not be a threat to win office, but he is a spoiler risk. Clinton’s blunt dismissal reflects a party nervous about even small defections in swing states.
The CGI Stage
Amid the sparring, Clinton was back on more comfortable ground with the Clinton Global Initiative, which opened its two-day summit in Manhattan on Monday. The foundation’s flagship event, now in its 20th year, is focusing on climate migration, global health, and AI regulation.
For Clinton, CGI is a reminder that she remains more than just a political combatant. It is a stage where she convenes heads of state and CEOs, framing solutions rather than just critiques.
The Clinton Role, Then and Now
The larger pattern is telling. Clinton is not a candidate, but she is hardly a bystander. She hammers Trump for authoritarian impulses, gives him a nod on Russia, tries to call for civility while warning about GOP complicity, and warns Kennedy Jr. could do lasting damage.
These are not contradictions. They are the marks of a politician who has lived through defeat, comeback, and reinvention, and still sees the dangers that others would prefer to downplay. If Trump looms over American politics like a parallel president, Clinton now speaks like a parallel stateswoman: blunt, imperfect, but unshaken in her view that the fight for democracy is unfinished.
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A political science PhD who jumped the academic ship to cover real-time governance, Olivia is the East Coast's sharpest watchdog. She dissects power plays in Trenton and D.C. without bias or apology.
