Hillary Clinton
© REUTERS/ Brian Snyder
Two years before Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton alleged the Russian government was trying to interfere in US elections, she claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally manipulating his own country's elections, Clinton's paid speech to Deutsche Bank in 2014 revealed.

Clinton's speech, released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday, demonstrates her pattern of criticizing the Russian president while simultaneously questioning the ability of Russians to participate in their own elections. "In December [2011] there were elections in Russia. They were highly irregular. Putin was determined to get people 'elected' that he chose," Clinton told the bank's audience. She further said that Putin accused her of "personally dialing every middle class household in Moscow saying, go protest against Putin," a comment that Clinton partisans have echoed by claiming that the Russian president is directing US opposition to her 2016 presidential candidacy.


Comment: First of all, Russians overwhelmingly support Putin. The same cannot be said for Americans' support of Hillary Clinton. In fact, Americans think more positively about Putin than both presidential candidates: Poll finds Americans hold more favorable views of Putin than either presidential candidate! So in the end, her constant attacks on Putin and Russia just come across as the paranoid ravings of a highly unpopular, childish, and desperate individual.


Clinton ended the speech by stressing that she felt the Russian leader was a "very serious threat," one that should not be underestimated.


Comment: Heed this warning: Putin keeping it real: White House uses Russia scaremongering to manipulate Americans


Last month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security jointly stated that Washington was confident the Russian government had directed computer attacks against US political organizations. Despite the accusations from intelligence officials and politicians, including members of the Clinton campaign, the FBI has not provided evidence linking Russia to any of the breaches. The Kremlin has called the hacking claims absurd and stressed that Russia has no desire to influence the US election.