Clinton: US is 'losing friends and allies' under Trump

By Jacqueline Thomsen
07/21/18 07:25 PM EDT

Hillary Clinton warned on Saturday that the U.S. is at risk of losing its status as a world leader under President Trump.

Clinton said during an appearance at OZY Fest in New York City that many U.S. allies have “a lot of confusion and worry about what the administration is doing, what it stands for.”

“And there’s a natural pulling back because people don’t know what to expect,” she continued.

The former secretary of state said that as the U.S. creates “a void” in global leadership, “you have adversaries like China…that step in to fill that void.”

“Pretty soon we become less relevant and less able to act in our own interests,” she said.

“I guess it’s fair to say that we’re losing friends and allies who are worried about what we might do next,” Clinton said, “leaving vacuums for those to fill who might not have any of the same interests and goals we have.”

Clinton's comments came after Trump's trip to Europe earlier this month, including his stops at the NATO summit and in the United Kingdom as well as for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump faced criticism for claiming that "Germany is a captive of Russia" over a pipeline deal between the two countries to deliver gas from Russia to parts of northern Germany.

He also questioned during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Tuesday why the U.S. must defend all NATO allies and appeared to side with Putin's denials that Russia was responsible for trying to interfere in the U.S. election in 2016.

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