--- title: When Donald Trump Praised Hillary Clinton description: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been critical of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but it wasn't always so. canonical: https://time.com/3962799/donald-trump-hillary-clinton/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-17T16:50:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:57.232Z article:section: Politics og:title: When Donald Trump Praised Hillary Clinton og:description: He's criticized her lately, but it wasn't always this way. og:url: https://time.com/3962799/donald-trump-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc44f3e318be82994/69885b723c16396b76458e4c/donald-trump-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses supporters during a political rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on July 11, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: When Donald Trump Praised Hillary Clinton twitter:description: He's criticized her lately, but it wasn't always this way. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc44f3e318be82994/69885b723c16396b76458e4c/donald-trump-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # When Donald Trump Praised Hillary Clinton > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. ## Video: Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement [Watch (HLS stream): Highlights from Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zZCJ6BIH.m3u8) (1:47)  _Published 2015-06-16. Highlights from Donald Trump's announcement to run for president._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 17, 2015 4:50 PM UTC  Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses supporters during a political rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on July 11, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses supporters during a political rally at the Phoenix Convention Center on July 11, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. Charlie Leight—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 17, 2015 4:50 PM UTC Republican presidential candidate and reality television star Donald Trump has been deeply critical of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as he has embarked on his campaign, but it wasn’t always so. The real estate magnate has a long history of delivering admiring comments about the woman he now calls the “worst Secretary of State in the history of the United States,” and a “desperate” and “sad” candidate. When Clinton last ran for office, Trump was torn between supporting her and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. ” They’re both terrific people, and I hope they both get the nomination,” he told [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/24/sitroom.01.html) in 2007, adding that he thought Clinton would surround herself with good people to negotiate a deal with Iran. A year later, Trump wondered publicly why Clinton wasn’t chosen as President Obama’s running-mate. In 2012, as Obama was running for re-election, Trump called Clinton “terrific” again in an interview with Fox News, saying she performed well as Secretary of State. “Hillary Clinton I think is a terrific woman,” he told Greta Van Susteren. “I am biased because I have known her for years. I live in New York. She lives in New York. I really like her and her husband both a lot. I think she really works hard. And I think, again, she’s given an agenda, it is not all of her, but I think she really works hard and I think she does a good job. I like her. And on Fox and Friends on Wednesday, Trump explained why he donated to Clinton’s campaigns. “I’m a businessman. I contribute to everybody,” Trump said. “When I needed Hillary, she was there. If I say ‘go to my wedding,’ they go to my wedding.” ## Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running [ APPLAUSE ] for President of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again. [ APPLAUSE ] When Mexico sends it's people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people. But I speak to Border Guards. And they tell us what we're getting. We need a leader that can bring back our jobs, can bring back our manufacturing, can bring back our military. Can take care of our vets. Our vets have been abandoned. [ APPLAUSE ] And we also need a cheerleader. You know, when President Obama was elected I said, well the one thing I think he'll do well, I think he'll be a great cheerleader For the Country. I think he would be a great spirit. He was vibrant, I really thought that he would be a great cheerleader. I don't anybody's money. It's nice. I don't need anybody's money. I am using my own money. I am not using the lobbyist, I am not using donor's, I don't care. I am really rich. I assure you that. And by the way I am not even saying that, to [ UNKNOWN ]. That is the kind of mindset, that is the kind of thinking you need for this country. 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