Hillary Clinton ripped into Republican front-runner Donald Trump Friday, accusing him of stoking prejudice and paranoia.
In a clip of a forthcoming interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton, that was played on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the Democratic front-runner took The Donald to task for attention-grabbing antics, saying he should tone it down.
“He has been stoking prejudice and paranoia. He’s been really appealing to the worst instincts of human nature,” Clinton said, adding, “I think its dangerous, his demagoguery is no longer amusing,” she added.
The criticism comes immediately after Trump lit into Clinton Thursday on “Fox and Friends,” when Trump called the former first lady’s behavior in her email scandal “ridiculous” and “totally illegal.”
The Democratic and Republican front-runners were social friends for years before they put themselves on collision course in the race for the White House.
On the campaign trail, Clinton has been critical of Trump’s brash language and provocative comments towards minorities and women. At the beginning of his campaign, she and many other candidates laughed off his stardom as a passing fad, but now in the fifth month of him leading the polls, the secretary of state has become fed up.
The Democratic front-runner and Trump have a cozy past personal friendship and working relationship. Trump has donated to the Clinton Global Initiative as well as the former first lady’s New York Senate campaign. Former President Bill Clinton even took the time to advise the business mogul on politics before he embarked on his first presidential run, and both Hillary and Bill attended Trump’s 2005 wedding to Melania Trump.
In the preview on the interview that’s set to air on Sunday morning, Sharpton reminded Clinton that Trump has also turned to personal attacks against her, most recently calling Clinton “shrill.”
“Well yes he’s called me a lot of things, now that he’s running against me.,” Clinton responded. “Before he called me a great senator and a great secretary of state. That’s what demagogue does, right? They say whatever they need to say to try to stir up the passions of people.”
