Trump: Mosul campaign designed to help Clinton

Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that efforts to take back the city of Mosul, Iraq, from the Islamic State were driven by a desire to support Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

"The only reason they did it is because she's running for office of president and they want to look tough," Trump said at the third presidential debate, appearing to refer to the Obama administration, which is supporting Iraqi efforts to capture the city. "They want to look good. He violated the red line in the sand, and he made so many mistakes. He made all mistakes. That's why we have the great migration, but she wanted to look good for the election."


The remarks came as an aside, as Trump argued more broadly that U.S. and allied efforts in Iraq were only benefiting Iran, a swipe meant for Obama and for Clinton, his former secretary of state.

"I'm just amazed that he seems to think the Iraqi government and our allies and everybody else launched the attack on Mosul" for the election, Clinton said.