Failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton brought her book tour to Canada Thursday night. In front of a gushing and adoring crowd of about 5,000 in Toronto, Clinton related stories from her latest memoir, “What Happened.”
The former secretary of state said she had a message for Canadians: “Democracy is under attack.” She assured the crowd, however, “I’m not going anywhere except right into the middle of the debates about our future.”
Prior to her speech, Clinton surrounded herself by some devoted supporters, who paid $2,400 for a private audience.
Clinton’s stage show has appeared at several U.S. cities so far, and the former first lady performs like an aging Hollywood star getting up close and personal with her fans.
Clinton trotted out the usual Russian conspiracy tales, calling Russia “a clear and present danger to our democracy” and telling her audience about how she believes the Kremlin hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computers and then waged “successful information warfare” during the election.
She raised highly arguable contentions about President Donald Trump’s alleged “very tangled” financial relationships with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
“Trump doesn’t just like Putin,” Clinton said. “He wants to be like Putin.”
Clinton demonstrated considerable animus towards WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who she represented as a willing tool of nefarious Russian plans to control cyberspace.
“Assange is somebody who I think is very much in the orbit, maybe even the control, of the Kremlin, doing its bidding,” said Clinton.
When she wasn’t warning of Russian malfeasance, Clinton was blaming her election loss on the usual suspects of former FBI Director James Comey, undue attention to her practice of receiving confidential emails on a private server and widespread sexism. “The only way to get sexism out of politics is to get more women in politics,” she said.
Clinton had kind words for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom she lauded for his quota cabinet that contains an even number of males and females.
“I especially appreciate Canada’s commitment to an open and diverse society that welcomes immigrants,” she said, indicating that many friends had told her to move to Canada after she lost the election.
Clinton had nothing good to say about her own national leader, repeating her descriptions of Donald Trump as a stalker and “creep” and suggesting that he fabricates the news.
“There is no such thing as an ‘alternative fact,’ despite the war by some to wage a war on reason and evidence,” she said. “We can’t let that happen.”