Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clashed with Czech Deputy Prime Minister Petr Macinka on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, as the two sparred over President Donald Trump's policies and the direction of the West.
Clinton, speaking on a panel about transatlantic relations, launched into a sharp rebuke of Trump, accusing him of undermining long-standing Western institutions.
"He has betrayed the West, he's betrayed human values, he's betrayed the NATO charter, the Atlantic Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a lot of what has been done before to try to make sense of how difficult it is to restrain people who want unaccountable power," Clinton said.
Macinka pushed back, suggesting Clinton's criticism reflected long-standing political opposition.
"First, I think you really don't like him," Macinka said.
"You know, that is absolutely true," Clinton responded. "But not only do I not like him, but I don't like what he's actually doing to the United States and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come of it."
Macinka argued that Trump's presidency represents a correction to progressive policies that alienated voters.
"Well, what Trump is doing in America, I think that it is a reaction. Reaction for some policies that really went too far, too far from the regular people," he said.
He specifically cited cultural and social issues.
"I don't agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism," Macinka said.
When Clinton interrupted to ask, "Which gender? Women having their rights?" the moderator stepped in to allow Macinka to continue.
"I think there are two genders, but some of us think that there is more than one, or more than two, sorry, more than two genders. I think there is male and female, and the rest probably is a social construct.
"So this is something that went too far," he said.
Macinka also brushed off Clinton's tone in the exchange, telling her he could tell he was making her nervous.
The panel also turned to immigration, where Clinton acknowledged policy failures under Democrats.
"It went too far, it's been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don't torture and kill people and how we're going to have a strong family structure because it is at the base of civilization," she said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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