“There is a great term the Soviets use to used: ‘somebody being a useful idiot,’” Albright said. | Getty Albright: Trump fits the mold of Russia's 'useful idiot'

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright chided Donald Trump on Monday, saying the Republican nominee has become Vladimir Putin’s patsy.

“There is a great term the Soviets used to use: ‘somebody being a useful idiot,’” Albright told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “I think that Trump falls into that category of people that are manipulated also by the Russians and the Russians are trying to interfere in our democracy because they don’t have one themselves.”


Albright, who served as the nation’s top diplomat under then-President Bill Clinton, says that as someone who has studied Russia, its alleged hacking to influence the 2016 election is "stunning," but that Trump's rhetoric only exacerbates the issue. The Obama administration has publicly accused Russia of using hacked emails to try to influence the election.

“I have never seen a mind meld of this kind between the Russian leadership and a candidate for the presidency of the United States,” Albright, a frequent Clinton surrogate, said. “Trump was briefed in his intelligence briefings about what the Russians are doing and he is playing their game instead of being concerned about America’s democratic system.”

Clinton pressed Trump during the final presidential debate to admit that Russia was trying to meddle in the electoral process.

In response, Trump said the United States has “no idea” who is behind the hacks of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's emails, which have been released by WikiLeaks. But he later added, he “of course condemned” any foreign meddling.

