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Hillary Clinton Says The ‘Mean-Spirited’ Donald Trump Isn’t The Man She Used To Know

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 11:15 PST, Feb 26, 2016

Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump isn’t the man she used to know. The Democratic presidential nominee is reacting to the unabashed comments he’s made during his campaign and the heated mudslinging going on among the Republican candidates today. Trump and Marco Rubio are dominating headlines with their back-and-forth grenade throwing at one another after Thursday night’s debate.

Hillary Clinton spoke with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss her views on Trump as the front-runner GOP presidential candidate. She does believe Trump will be the Republican nominee that she’ll face off with.

What does Clinton think of Trump’s rhetoric that’s clearly crossing new territory in unleashing low blows in all realms?

“Some of the comments that he’s made, which have been so divisive and mean-spirited, doesn’t quite fit with what I thought I knew about him,” Clinton said.

The former secretary of state said it’s going to be “interesting to see” what Trump does with the nomination if he gets it, and how he’ll present himself at that point.

Hillary Clinton adds that Donald Trump “has really been offensive and in many respects surprising to those of us who did know him.”

Clinton predicts a profound reflection from the American people will take hold by the time we see the November general election. She surmises that everyone is “going to see a real seriousness of people, whoever the Republicans nominate, turning and saying, ‘What do we really know about him?'”

NY Mag offered some insight from a psychologist who’s an expert on the subject of bullying. The article was a pointed reference to Donald Trump and how his unhinged attacks are free of any consequences. No matter what his political rivals throw his way, they can’t deter him from being the clear front-runner in the GOP presidential race.

Jaana Juvonen, a psychologist at UCLA and author on bullying, said Trump has some of the characteristic qualities of a bully.

“Not that bullies are a uniform, homogeneous group, but the sort of classic bully is one who is narcissistic, is after power, often charismatic, and therefore popular,” Juvonen said.

The expert on bullying adds that these type of individuals also “feel really good about themselves.” Donald Trump is undeniably one of those individuals.

Juvonen expounds that this type of confidence is “shallow.”

“They come out looking like they have very high self-esteem,” Juvonen said. “But one way to think about it is that self-esteem is so highly dependent on the popularity, so if there’s any problem, if somebody dares to criticize them, that might make them more vulnerable … [So] when somebody criticizes them, they attack immediately … they can’t stand that they are being criticized.”

USA Today published a report in which a panel of psychologists wouldn’t categorize Trump as a “textbook bully.” Patti McDougall, associate professor of psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, was one of the experts who stated “bullying does not happen when you’ve got two equals in a fight.” As onlookers have seen with Donald Trump, he backs down from no one. He isn’t afraid to attack — or counterattack — the media, politicians, or others many might see as his “equal.”

Hillary Clinton doesn’t see the old Donald she once knew in high-society circles in New York City several years ago. She claims the presidential campaign has changed Trump for the worse.

Will Hillary Clinton be the Democratic nominee, and will Donald Trump be the Republican nominee for U.S. president when November comes around? How will Trump’s “bullying” and “mean-spirited” demeanor impact the general election if so?

[Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images]

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