Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s email use as Barack Obama’s secretary of state is “devastating for the election.”
In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday, the business mogul turned politician added, “But I think her bigger problem is not the election. I think her bigger problem is going to be the criminal [problem].”
The GOP frontrunner added that he’s not surprised that he has come within 6 points of the former Secretary of State in the latest polls. “I think that Hillary’s going to have a hard time being in the election based on what’s going on with the emails, the servers, maybe even the speeches,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a very hard thing for her to overcome.”
He compared Clinton to Gen. David Petraeus, the former four-star Army general and CIA director who pleaded guilty in January to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information in his dealings with his biographer and lover.
“When I look, Chris, at what happened with Petraeus … great general, wonderful guy, everybody loved him, and it destroyed his life over much less,” Trump told Cuomo. “It would seem hard to think that somebody could have a much worse situation than him and escape.”
Trump also responded to pundits who criticized him for telling “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday that he often gets military strategy by watching current and retired generals on TV.
“I watch your show. And I watch other shows. And you have the best channels, the best everything … frankly probably better than I could get,” Trump said. “What do I know? I’m a man that made a great fortune. I’m gonna make our country rich and I’m gonna make our country great.”
15 Times Donald Trump Courted Controversy (Photos)
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.
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Trump was accused of dooming the fledgling U.S. Football League in 1984 when he insisted it go head to head with the NFL with a fall game schedule.
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Trump sparked a feud with Rosie O'Donnell in 2006, calling the comedian "disgusting" and "a slob," among other things
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In September 2010, Trump accused the imam of a proposed mosque near NYC's Ground Zero of using religion to bargain for a better real estate price.
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Joining the dubious "birther" movement, Trump fought to get President Obama to release his long-form birth certificate in April 2011.
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Trump earned the ire of environmentalists when he unveiled plans for a massive golf course in Scotland in July 2012.
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Trump upset gay rights groups when he compared gay marriage to golf in February 2013.
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In August 2013 Trump was the subject of a civil suit for allegedly false promises made to students of his Trump University.
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A new waterfront Chicago skyscraper opened in 2014 despite widespread complaints about the 20-foot-high sign bearing his name.
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Trump began a feud with Russell Brand after seeing the British comedian on a talk show and disliking what he saw.
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Trump minced no words when he tweeted about the "thugs" rioting in Baltimore in April 2015 following the death of an African American man in police custody.
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Announcing his bid for the GOP nomination in June 2015, Trump set off a media firestorm when he called Mexican immigrants criminals and "rapists."
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Trump reportedly paid actors $50 a head to attend his presidential announcement speech in June 2015.
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Billionaire’s recent public image problems are latest in long line of troubles
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.