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‘The whole world should be concerned’: Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump’s presidency

Hillary Clinton in an exclusive interview with ABC's Sarah Ferguson on <i>Four Corners</i>.

Hillary Clinton in an exclusive interview with ABC's Sarah Ferguson on Four Corners. Photo: ABC

Donald Trump and his use of Twitter represent a “clear and present danger” to global security, Hillary Clinton has warned.

In an interview on ABC’s Four Corners on Monday night, Mrs Clinton alleged the United States and “the rest of the world, including Australia” are at risk under Mr Trump’s presidency.

Mrs Clinton, 68, labeled Mr Trump the most dangerous president the US has ever had, stating his use of social media and his “conducting diplomacy or the lack thereof, on Twitter” puts everyone at risk.

“I think he is, because he is impulsive, he lacks self-control, he is totally consumed by how he is viewed and what people think of him,” she said.

“He is vindictive. He goes after people like the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, desperate to get help and calling him out for the very slow response of the federal government.

“So his behaviour traits and his lack of knowledge about how government works and his very, you know, limited curiosity about how to educate himself to actually make better decisions, are quite worrisome.

“I think the whole world should be concerned.

“I’m worried about the divisiveness from within our country and the lack of a strategic approach to the rest of the world.”

Russia, WikiLeaks damaged Clinton’s campaign

Julian Assange Embassy

Julian Assange has been inside the Ecuador embassy in London since 2012. Photo: AAP

In the wide-ranging interview, Mrs Clinton attacked WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for allegedly hurting her chances of becoming president.

She claimed Mr Assange colluded with Russian intelligence, including President Vladimir Putin, to disrupt the 2016 US election and to damage her campaign.

“He’s [Assange] a tool of Russian intelligence. If he’s such a martyr of free speech, why doesn’t WikiLeaks ever publish anything out of Russia?”

On October 7 last year, a recording of Mr Trump making lewd comments about sexually harassing women was released by The Washington Post.

Less than one hour later, more than 2000 emails from Mrs Clinton’s presidential campaign chair, John Podesta, were published by WikiLeaks.

“I’ve no doubt in my mind that there was some communication if not co-ordination to drop those the first time in response to the Hollywood Access tape,” she said.

“I think that their intention coming from the very top with [Mr] Putin was to hurt me and to help [US President] Donald Trump.”

FBI Director James Comey’s letter

Mrs Clinton also alleged former FBI director James Comey’s letter to relaunch an investigation into her use of a private email server nine days before the election affected her presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton

Then FBI Director James Comey announced the investigation nine days before the election. Photo: Getty

“He did shiv me,” Mrs Clinton stated.

“There was clearly an effort to derail my campaign at the end. He was either the willing or unwitting vehicle for that.

“What he did with regard to me was against precedent, against protocol, against the advice of his higher-ups in the Justice Department and really inexplicable.”

According to Melbourne University US election expert James Cahill, Mr Comey’s influence on the election result is undeniable.

“I thought that the timing of the Comey letter could not have been worse,” Mr Cahill told The New Daily.

“Before the letter she had about a six-point lead and that just quickly evaporated and dropped about four points in the last week, which you don’t typically ever see.

“That doesn’t usually happen, normally at that point everybody in the swing states has seen all the ads and the debates … The fact that the polls would move that much in the last nine days is pretty remarkable.

“I believe that the campaign was so tight that those things were enough to make a difference.”

Mrs Clinton said: “I knew it would be hard [to win the election], I knew it would be close, but I did not know that I would be running against not only Trump, but the FBI Director and Vladimir Putin.”

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