--- title: Hillary Clinton Exceptionalism: She Criticizes Donald Trump description: In an unlikely twist, Hillary Clinton has turned an old Republican attack on President Obama against her rival Donald Trump. canonical: https://time.com/4474714/hillary-clinton-exceptionalism/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-31T21:08:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:45:07.044Z article:section: Politics og:title: Clinton Turns an Old Attack on Obama Against Trump og:description: Arguing that he doesn't believe America is exceptional. og:url: https://time.com/4474714/hillary-clinton-exceptionalism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6967e3b6d3e4ec1e/6988a46a97cdff15356ada6a/gettyimages-598109500-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks at the American Legion Convention August 31, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Clinton Turns an Old Attack on Obama Against Trump twitter:description: Arguing that he doesn't believe America is exceptional. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6967e3b6d3e4ec1e/6988a46a97cdff15356ada6a/gettyimages-598109500-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Turns Old Attack on President Obama Against Donald Trump > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6f2bcf16-a3ff-4574-8895-33fadeb0c740&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Hillary Clinton at the American Legion Convention in Cincinnati [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton at the American Legion Convention in Cincinnati](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t1AZU0uX.m3u8) (1:52)  _Published 2016-08-31. A Washington Post–ABC News poll released Wednesday shows that 56% of Americans view Clinton unfavorably, while 41% have a favorable impression of the Democrat—the worst she’s been viewed in her time in public life._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Aug 31, 2016 9:08 PM UTC A Washington Post–ABC News poll released Wednesday shows that 56% of Americans view Clinton unfavorably, while 41% have a favorable impression of the Democrat—the worst she’s been viewed in her time in public life. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Aug 31, 2016 9:08 PM UTC A few months into his first term, President Obama was [asked by a reporter](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/news-conference-president-obama-4042009) whether he agreed with his predecessors that America is “uniquely qualified to lead the world.” His answer spawned a cottage industry of conservative criticism. “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism,” he said. “I’m enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world.” It was a typical Obama rhetorical flourish, meant to acknowledge his opponent’s perspective—he was talking to a British journalist while on a trip to France—before speaking to his own. But the first half of the quote was roundly criticized from all sides, since [if all countries are exceptional then none of them are](http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/28/opinion/oe-kirchick28). By the time Obama ran for re-election in 2012, Republicans were regularly arguing that he did not believe in American exceptionalism. (Never mind that it wasn’t exactly true, as Obama [repeatedly and loudly endorsed](http://www.factcheck.org/2015/02/obama-and-american-exceptionalism/) the concept in speeches.) Republican nominee Mitt Romney [made](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=97899) it a [centerpiece](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=102450) of his [campaign](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/obama-rebuffs-romney-on-american-exceptionalism/) against Obama, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio argued at [a Republican debate earlier this year](http://time.com/4210921/republican-debate-transcript-new-hampshire-eighth/) that Obama was trying “to make America more like the rest of the world.” Now, in an unlikely twist, Hillary Clinton has turned that line of attack against her Republican rival, Donald Trump. In [a speech before the American Legion](http://time.com/4474619/read-hillary-clinton-american-legion-speech/) in Cincinnati Wednesday, the Democratic nominee argued that the New York real estate mogul doesn’t think America is exceptional. “My opponent in this race has said very clearly that he thinks American exceptionalism is insulting to the rest of the world,” Clinton said. As evidence, Clinton pointed to [a 2013 interview](https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/donald-trump-praised-putin-for-bashing-the-term-american-exc) Trump had with _Piers Morgan Tonight._ At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin had just written [an op-ed for the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html) in which he criticized President Obama for saying that America is [“exceptional.”](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/10/remarks-president-address-nation-syria) “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation,” Putin wrote. “There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.” In the interview with Piers Morgan, Trump applauded Putin taking Obama to task for endorsing American exceptionalism, inadvertently echoing Obama’s own words. “You think of the term as being fine, but all of sudden you say, what if you’re in Germany or Japan or any one of 100 different countries? You’re not going to like that term,” said Trump. “It’s very insulting and Putin really put it to him about that.” Clinton wasn’t just content to criticize Trump. In [her address](http://time.com/4474619/read-hillary-clinton-american-legion-speech/), she also heartily endorsed the concept of American exceptionalism, going even further to call America “indispensable” and citing two Republican presidents in her speech to the American Legion. “The United States is an exceptional nation,” she said. “I believe we are still Lincoln’s last, best hope of Earth. We’re still Reagan’s shining city on a hill. We’re still Robert Kennedy’s great, unselfish, compassionate country. … In fact, we are the indispensable nation.” It was an argument aimed squarely at the veterans of an organization that lists [“Americanism”](http://www.legion.org/pillars/211656/pillar-3-americanism) as one of its central pillars. But it was also a way of turning one of the Republican lines against Obama back against the party’s own nominee. ## Transcript [00:00] I am delighted to have this great honor of [00:05] being here and having this opportunity to address [00:09] you. You don't build a coalition by [00:13] insulting our friends or acting like a loose cannon, [00:18] you do it by putting in the slow Hard work [00:23] of building relationships. People have to get to know that [00:26] they can count on you. That you won't say one thing one [00:30] day and something totally different the next. And [00:35] it's certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of [00:39] insults and insinuations. By dropping in our [00:43] neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. 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