Hillary Clinton says she’s not sure if America will remain the world’s top superpower

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a guest appearance in Philadelphia on Sunday morning to participate in a Q&A session at America in One Room/Pennsylvania.

Attendees were told that a special guest would be speaking to them, but the crowd was kept in the dark until Clinton took the stage.

For 30 minutes, she responded to questions on a variety of foreign affairs topics at the gathering aimed at encouraging civic engagement and finding solutions to the nation’s most pressing challenges.

Clinton told the room that she’s “intrigued” and “excited” by what they were doing.

“(I’m) hopeful that it can serve as a model for a lot of the tough issues we face,” Clinton said.

Once the Q&A began, one particular question gave her pause: Is the United States “really the top superpower in the world, or are we just the top consumers?”

“I think we still are (the top superpower), but I’m not sure we will remain,” Clinton said. “Because we are giving away our power in ways that I think are very damaging to our leadership position in the world.”

The former first lady, who served as U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama’s first term, was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2016, losing to Republican Donald Trump.

She didn’t mention President Trump by name, but appeared to criticize his administration’s foreign policy.

“I want us to remain the leading superpower. I want us to remain the leading example of a society that can work together, achieve things of importance together, get along with each other across partisan lines,” Clinton said. “And I know we’re in a big battle in our country right now, because other people have a very different view, a view of dominance and a view of power for the sake of power.”

Clinton argued that if the United States cedes to someone else as the “superpower” of the world, it would create a vacuum filled by bad actors and ultimately, lead to a world that is less safe, less fair, and less prosperous.

However, she said she also fears if the United States no longer leads it could also create spheres of influence for other countries to step into and become dominant.

“You know, there are some people, frankly, who advocate let China control Asia, let Russia control Europe. We’ll just stay over here,” Clinton said. “That was exactly what was said in the 1930s and it did not work out very well.”

“So, I think we have to learn from history,” she added. “Not be imprisoned by it, but learn from it.”

Tariffs and Taiwan

When responding to questions about America’s foreign policy in Asia, Clinton said that she believes the United States needs to make it clear to China that if they were to invade Taiwan, it would be crossing a red line.

“We don’t want a conflict. That would be the last thing we want,” Clinton said. “But Taiwan is one of those lines.”

Without saying Trump by name, Clinton also criticized the current administration, saying she believes that the United States is not pursuing what she believes is the smartest strategy with Taiwan.

She also blasted Trump’s tariff policies with China. On May 12, Trump announced that he lowered the 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days in an effort to allow for trade talks, while China also reduced its taxes on U.S. products from 125% to 10%, according to the Associated Press.

“We are crippling our economy,” Clinton said. “We are affecting their economy, maybe not as much as it will eventually affect our economy.” 

Clinton referenced California’s Long Beach port being “largely empty” right now as a sign that the impact of the tariffs will be felt over the next few months.

“They haven’t quite kicked in yet, so we are hurting ourselves economically,” she said.

Many Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, have been vocal against the tariffs that Trump has put in place. However, Republicans, including Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, believe the tariffs will benefit American manufacturing. 

Russian invasion of Ukraine “absolutely against our interests”

When addressing a question about whether or not the United States needs to rethink the balance between defense spending and investing in diplomacy, Clinton said the country needs both.

The Trump administration’s effort to slash government spending via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led to programs like USAID being cut, which has resulted in pushback from Democratic lawmakers.

She also referenced the current war in Ukraine.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a totally aggressive, unprovoked effort to conquer and take over another country, is absolutely against our interests,” Clinton said. “It’s against our interests because we do not want to see aggression rewarded, because you don’t know where it will stop, and you don’t know who will come after you, or people that you’re connected with or that you’re invested in.”

During the 2024 presidential election, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, differed on the way they believe the United States should handle the war in Ukraine. Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine on “day one,” if elected, although an agreement to end the conflict has not yet been reached.

More than 150,000 people living in Pennsylvania are Ukrainians and Ukrainian Americans, making the Keystone State the home to the second largest population in the nation.

Clinton acknowledged that part of the challenge is ending the conflict after it starts and referenced how President Bill Clinton’s administration played a role in ending conflicts in Northern Ireland and the Balkans.

“You have to look at all the different levers of power and utilize them appropriately,” Clinton said. “Where does diplomacy work? Where does military force play a role? And what can we do to promote our values by working with people who want to have freedom and democracy.”

“Cybersecurity is clearly one of our biggest threats”

On a question about defense spending, Clinton warned that cybersecurity is “clearly one of our biggest threats” currently facing the United States. She said she believes that deterrence is what is needed right now in the world, arguing it would send a message to the United States’ adversaries.

“We know that our adversaries, primarily Russia and China, have the capacity to cripple our infrastructure,” Clinton said. “We have the capacity to cripple their infrastructure.”

“We have to be better prepared and better able to deter them than they can hurt us,” she added. 

Sunday was the final day of the gathering at the Sheraton Hotel in Center City. Several Pennsylvania elected officials participated in the multi-day conference, including Gov. Shapiro, House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia), and state Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia).