At a festival appearance in New York City's Central Park, Hillary Clinton spoke against President Trump's apparent reluctance to accept intelligence showing that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
"The great mystery is why the president has not spoken up for our country and we saw that most clearly in this recent meeting with Putin," she said.
Trump raised controversy on Monday in Helsinki by seeming to accept Russian President Putin's denial over the stance of U.S. intelligence agencies. Trump met Putin in Finland for a private discussion with only the two leaders and interpreters present.
Former Secretary of State Clinton questioned the format of the summit, saying that while one-on-one meetings sometimes happen with friendly heads of state, it's less usual with a Russian president.
"You particularly need a note taker so that there can be no mistake about what was said," she said.
Clinton said failure to officially record the meeting gave Putin the opportunity to put out press releases about what was accomplished and spin the results however he'd like while, she said, "we're hearing crickets" from the White House.
"This idea that somehow we are not sure where our own president stands is deeply disturbing, and the best way to deal with that is to vote in November," she said to applause.
However, even as she encouraged voter turnout, as WNYC's Alec Hamilton reports, "Clinton expressed concerns about the security of that November midterm election, saying that the country lacks the infrastructure and leadership to safeguard against further cyberattacks. "
Clinton made her remarks at Ozy Fest, an event promoted as offering "today's hottest entertainers, innovators and thought leaders." Other speakers included New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon and activist Rose McGowan.
Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org/.