Washington: US President Donald Trump has challenged former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run against him in the 2020 presidential elections.   Trump registered a shocking win over Clinton, who was the Democratic candidate, in the 2016 presidential elections. Clinton in recent months has been attributing external factors for her defeat, whereas Trump claimed that she was a weak candidate.   

"I hope Hillary runs. Is she going to run? I hope. Hillary, please run again. Go ahead," Trump told reporters at an impromptu news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House. Trump said there a number of reasons for the defeat of Clinton in the presidential elections. "There are a lot of reasons she didn't win, including the fact that she was not good at what she did," Trump said.   

He also slammed Clinton for defending NFL players who kneel during the national anthem. "I think that her statement, in itself, is very disrespectful to our country," he said. "It is very disrespectful to our country when they take a knee during the national anthem, number one. Number two, the people of our country are very angry at the NFL. All you have to do is look at their ratings and look at their stadiums. You see empty seats where you never saw them before. A lot of people are very angry at it," he said.   

"It is highly disrespectful, they shouldn't do it, Trump said in response to a question. Trump also said that Clinton blaming Russia for her defeat is an excuse. "The whole Russian thing was an excuse for the Democrats losing the election, and it turns out to be just one excuse. I mean, today, Hillary blamed Nigel Farage. That one came out of nowhere," he charged.   

The Democrats, he argued, have a big advantage in the electoral college and they should never lose an election. "They should always be able to win in the electoral college, but they were unable to do it. So there has been absolutely no collusion. It's been stated that they have no collision. They ought to get to the end of it because I think the American public is sick of it," Trump said. PTI