Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump's candidacy: 'Unfortunate'

Heidi M. Przybyla | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Hillary Clinton talks Trump, e-mail server and Biden Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sat down for an extended interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. Here's what she had to say about her possible 2016 competition, and the e-mail controversy that won't die.

Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy an "unfortunate development" in U.S. politics, her sharpest criticism of the real estate billionaire leading polls for the Republican nomination.

"His campaign is all about who he is against, whether it’s immigrants or women broadcasters or aides of other candidates," she said Friday in an interview with NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell.

On Donald Trump:

"He can unfortunately do what he’s doing, which I think is a bad development for our American political system," said Clinton, who sat for her third nationally televised interview.

Trump leads polls for the Republican nomination as Americans express their preference for candidates such as Trump and Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, who are not career politicians. Trump's poll ratings, including the percentage of Americans with a favorable opinion of him, are climbing amid public spats with other candidates, as well as high-profile broadcasters, including Fox News' Megyn Kelly. Trump retweeted a line calling her a "bimbo" after she questioned him sharply during a debate.

He recently took aim at Clinton’s longtime aide, Huma Abedin, suggesting she leaked classified information to her husband, former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, whom Trump called a "perv" and a "sleazebag."

"He’s great at innuendo and conspiracy theories and really defaming people," Clinton said.

On the emails:

Clinton fielded a series of questions about her use of a private email server when she served as secretary of State. The issue has been dominating news headlines about her candidacy as the percentage of Americans who view her favorably has dropped over the past few months.

"I take responsibility. I should have had two accounts, one for personal and one for work-related," Clinton said, reiterating what she’s said before. She stopped short of saying she’s sorry for the decision.

"At the end of the day, I am sorry that this has been confusing to people and has raised a lot of questions, but there are answers to all these questions," Clinton said.

Amid the email controversy, recent polling shows a majority of Americans say Clinton is not trustworthy, and Clinton responded to those findings.

"It certainly doesn't make me feel good," she said. "But I am very confident that by the time this campaign has run its course, people will know that what I've been saying is accurate."

On Biden:

She also commented on Vice President Biden's deliberations over whether to challenge her for the nomination. On Thursday, Biden expressed doubt whether his family has the ``emotional energy'' for a run after the death of his son, Beau, from cancer in May. ``He has to make a really difficult decision. You can see him struggling with it,'' said Clinton.

"I think everybody should give him the space and respect he deserves to make what is a very difficult choice for him and his family.''



