Signs Hillary Clinton Doesn't Hate Trump As Much As Everyone Thought

The political landscape in America is more divided than ever before, with Democrats and Republicans at each other's throats and working hard to blame one another for every bad thing that happens. Given that — and their fierce battle during the 2016 presidential election — it's easy to assume that Hillary Clinton absolutely hates Donald Trump and his authoritarian-leaning political agenda to her very core. She's never shied away from slamming his stances or firing off snarky responses to Trump's various legal woes and public scandals.

In October 2024, Clinton shared her brutal take on how much worse Trump has become, in her opinion, since she faced off against him just eight years earlier. The veteran politician spoke with CNN and said of Trump, "I think he's more unhinged, more unstable... I think you see that all the time in both his rallies and his kind of word-salad-after-word-salad speeches." However, despite all the anti-Trump rhetoric and staunch disapproval of most of his political speeches, there's a part of Clinton that is apparently holding out hope that Trump might prove capable of saving lives and bringing peace in the war in Ukraine.

In fact, Clinton said she'd nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize – a recognition Trump has long said he deserves — if he were able to coordinate an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and stop the violence and bloodshed. During an episode of the "Raging Moderates" podcast, published on August 15, Clinton explained that any animosity between her and her former political rival could be put aside for the good of humanity. However, she set the bar fairly high for Trump when it comes to getting her endorsement for the coveted humanitarian accolade.

With Donald Trump attempting (albeit unsuccessfully) to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska on August 15, the question of Trump's ability to navigate the turbulent waters of international diplomacy has been called into question. In Hillary Clinton's mind, however, Trump could still be the man to make it happen, possibly. "Honestly, if he could bring about the end to this terrible war, where Putin is the aggressor... if he could end it without putting Ukraine in a position where it had to concede its territory to the aggressor... If we could pull that off, if President Trump were the architect of that, I'd nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize," Clinton shared on an episode of the "Raging Moderates" podcast.

"My goal here is to not allow capitulation to Putin, aided and abetted by the United States," Clinton continued. She went on to say that if the promise of a Nobel Peace Prize was enough to motivate Trump to actually stand up to Putin, she'd happily to shower him with that level of praise.

While there's been no shortage of animosity between Trump and Clinton over the past decade, the pair actually had an amicable relationship before Trump got into politics. In 2012, Trump even praised Clinton when speaking with Fox News, sharing (via Time), "Hillary Clinton, I think, is a terrific woman.. I think she really works hard, and I think she does a good job. I like her." Perhaps their past friendship could allow some reconciliation in the future — if Trump is able to suddenly become an expert diplomat and calming presence who is willing to stand up to Russia.