--- title: Democratic Debate: Clinton Describes Relationship With Putin description: Hillary Clinton's slightly awkward response drew laughter when she was asked about her relationship with Vladimir Putin. canonical: https://time.com/4184103/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-democratic-debate/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-18T05:16:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:48.624Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's How Hillary Clinton Described Her Relationship With Putin og:description: Her slightly awkward response drew laughter from the crowd og:url: https://time.com/4184103/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-democratic-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df04f7051535f74/698879833c16395d7345b987/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: CHARLESTON, SC - JANUARY 17: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton participates in the Democratic Candidates Debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube on January 17, 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina. This is the final debate for the Democratic og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Hillary Clinton Described Her Relationship With Putin twitter:description: Her slightly awkward response drew laughter from the crowd twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df04f7051535f74/698879833c16395d7345b987/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Hillary Clinton Described Her Relationship With Putin > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b59e1d89-8db0-4eb0-9fce-21bac708d37f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Clinton On Her Relationship With Putin [Watch (HLS stream): Clinton On Her Relationship With Putin](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/StyrCZre.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2016-01-18. Clinton On Her Relationship With Putin_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 18, 2016 5:16 AM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 18, 2016 5:16 AM UTC At the[ fourth Democratic debate](http://time.com/4183625/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders) in Charleston Sunday night, [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4184019/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-president-obama/) [was asked](http://time.com/4183952/democratic-debate-full-text-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/) about her personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Her slightly awkward response drew laughter from the crowd: “Well, my relationship with him, it’s — it’s interesting,” the former Secretary of State said. But then she recovered, continuing, “It’s one, I think, of respect. We’ve had some very tough dealings with one another. And I know that he’s someone that you have to continually stand up to because, like many bullies, he is somebody who will take as much as he possibly can unless you do.” ## Transcript As President would you hand Vladimir Putin a reset button? Well it would depend upon on what I got for it, and I an tell you what we got in the first term. We got a new start treaty to reduce nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia, we got permission to re- supply our troops in Afghanistan by travelling across Russia. We got Russia to sign on to our sanctions against Iran, and other very important commitments. What's your relationship with him? Well, my relationship with him. [ LAUGH ] It's interesting. [ LAUGH ] It's one, I think, of Respect, we've had some very tough dealings with one another. And I know that he's someone that you have to continually stand up to because like Like many bullies, he is somebody who will take as much as he possibly can unless you do. And we need to get the Europeans to be more willing to stand up. I was pleased they put sanctions on after Crimea and Eastern Ukraine and the downing of the airliner, but we've gotta be more united in preventing Putin from taking a more aggressive stance in Europe and the Middle East. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4184103/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-democratic-debate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4184103/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-democratic-debate/"},"headline":"Here's How Hillary Clinton Described Her Relationship With Putin","datePublished":"2016-01-18T05:16:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:40:48.624Z","description":"\"Well, my relationship with him, it's -- it's interesting\"","url":"https://time.com/4184103/hillary-clinton-vladimir-putin-democratic-debate/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df04f7051535f74/698879833c16395d7345b987/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1df04f7051535f74/698879833c16395d7345b987/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CHARLESTON, SC - JANUARY 17: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton participates in the Democratic Candidates Debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube on January 17, 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina. 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