Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton has slammed the divisive rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and said she is ready for the "fantasy campaign" of the billionaire businessman.
"I'm ready for his fantasy campaign and the outrageous things he's going to say," Clinton told CNN yesterday.
Her remarks came on a day when 69-year-old Trump crossed the threshold of 1237 pledged delegates to become the Republican presidential candidate. A formal announcement in this regard would be made at the party's convention in July.
"I just really regret that the kinds of things he is saying about letting other countries get nuclear weapons and bringing back torture, and just the outrageous comments that are literally being heard around the world," she said.
"That's not who we are as Americans. That's not the kind of strong, smart, steady leadership that we need and deserve," Clinton said in a phone interview to CNN, a practice developed by Trump after he joined politics about a year ago.
Speaking about a State Department Inspector General's report that she violated the laws by using private email hosted in her personal server when she was the Secretary of State, 68-year-old Clinton acknowledged her mistake.
"As I've said many times, it was still a mistake. If I could go back, I'd do it differently. And I understand people have concerns about this, but I hope voters look at the full picture of everything that I've done and the full threat posed by a Donald trump presidency," she said.
"And if they do, I have faith in the American people that they'll make the right choice," she said.
Trump has slammed Clinton on the email report.
"Look, she has bad judgment. This was all bad judgment. Probably illegal. We'll have to find out what the FBI says about, but certainly it was bad judgment," he told reporters.
"I just read the report. It's devastating, the report. It's devastating. And there's no reason for it. It's just skirting on the edge all the time, and you look back at her history and this is her history. It's a very, very harsh report," he said in Bismarck, North Dakota.
"I know that Donald Trump says outrageous things all the time, but today he officially clinched the Republican nomination. So this is now as real as it gets," Clinton said.
"And this man, who is an unqualified loose canon, is within reach of the most important job in the world. So it should concern every American," she said.
"President (Barack) Obama came out of meetings with our closest allies in the world, and reporting that they are, quote, 'rattled by the threat Donald Trump represent'. Of course they're rattled. He's talking about breaking up our alliances, letting more countries get nuclear weapons, banning all Muslims from coming to America. That is a recipe for fewer friends and more enemies and it will make us less safe," Clinton said.
"The entire world looks to the president of the US for leadership and stability, and that is the kind of leadership I would provide if elected," Clinton said.
