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Donald Trump Praises Saddam Hussein

Donald Trump praised former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s terrorism approach during a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday, July 5.

Speaking to more than 2,000 of his supporters, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, 70, applauded Hussein, who was executed in December 2006, for his efficient killing of terrorists.

Donald Trump
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on July 5, 2016, in Raleigh, NC.

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“Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? He was a bad guy, really bad guy,” Trump said. “But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights, they didn’t talk. They were a terrorist, it was over.”

The former Celebrity Apprentice host continued, “Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It’s like Harvard, OK? So sad.”

Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein attends a press conference in Baghdad on October 14, 1983.

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Shortly after Trump’s rally on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton’s senior campaign adviser Jake Sullivan released a statement on behalf of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign.

“Donald Trump’s praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds,” Sullivan wrote. “Tonight, Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights. In reality, Hussein’s regime was a sponsor of terrorism — one that paid families of suicide bombers who attacked Israelis, among other crimes. Trump’s cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrates how dangerous he would be as Commander-in-Chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks.”

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This isn’t the first time Trump commended the Iraqi tyrant. During an October 2015 interview with CNN, the businessman stated that he believes the world would “100 percent” be better off if Hussein and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi were still in power.

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