U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called Russian President Vladimir Putin the “grand godfather of this global brand of extreme nationalism,” speaking at a campaign event in Nevada.
The former U.S. Secretary of State devoted her speech to so-called “alternative right” ideology and the danger of rightist political forces seizing power.
She was criticizing her Republican opponent Donald Trump for supporting Putin's policy: “He talks casually of abandoning our NATO allies, recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and of giving the Kremlin a free hand in Eastern Europe more generally. American presidents from Truman to Reagan have rejected the kind of approach Trump is taking on Russia.”
The U.S. media has long connected Trump’s campaign to the Kremlin, pointing to his pro-Putin advisers and Russian business ties. Several of Trump’s advisers were reported to be sympathetic to the Kremlin, and his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort served as an adviser to Russian-backed former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Putin himself has been forthright in his praise of the Republican candidate.
