Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein called Hillary Clinton a conspiracist for accusing her and Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of working for the Kremlin to influence U.S. elections.
Stein, 69, appeared on CNN Saturday morning to respond to Clinton’s claim made on a podcast earlier in the week. Clinton, 71, called Stein a “Russian asset” who aided Moscow and the Trump campaign in defeating her in 2016.
Clinton also said that the Russians are “grooming” Gabbard to launch a third-party bid for the presidency to split votes with the eventual Democratic nominee, likely ensuring Trump’s reelection.
“I am not a Russian spy. I think this is a completely unhinged conspiracy theory for which there is absolutely no basis in fact, not for myself and not for Tulsi Gabbard,” Stein said. “I think it’s really outrageous that Hillary Clinton is trying to promote this crazy idea.
“You know, you can’t just slander people. You have to present some basis in fact. Tulsi has said that she is dedicated to running as a Democrat and she has been for her whole life, so that’s pretty believable,” Stein continued. “I am not running for office. Somehow, Hillary Clinton didn’t do her Google research, or she would know that I am not running. So it’s preposterous to say if I will ‘give it up.'”
Stein floated her own theory attempting to explain Clinton’s accusation.
“You know, this is just a wild and insulting theory, and I think it speaks to Hillary’s need to try to explain, perhaps to herself, you know, why her campaign was not successful,” Stein said.
Stein was the Green Party’s candidate for president in 2012 and 2016. She also ran for the Massachusetts governor’s seat in 2002 and 2010.
