Donald Trump once called Hillary Clinton 'wonderful' and 'misunderstood'

The 2008 video and blog post reveals another opinion the Republican nominee had of his current rival

The candidates have not always been so opposed to each other (REUTERS/Jim Young)

Donald Trump has condemned “Crooked” Hillary Clinton on many fronts over the last few months.

His multiple-pronged attack has included her husband’s history with women, her charitable foundation, her “ineffective” status as a senator of New York and her “disastrous” tenure of secretary of state.

At the second presidential debate, he insisted she should be in jail.

Yet in 2008, the billionaire told NY1’s Dominic Carter that he thought she was a “wonderful woman”.

“I think that she’s a little bit misunderstood. Hillary’s a very smart woman, very tough women, that’s fine. She’s also a very nice person. I think she’s gonna go down at a minimum as a great senator.”

Normally a fierce opponent of Bill Clinton and his alleged infidelities during the campaign trail, Mr Trump gave a different opinion during the interview.

“I think she is a great wife to a president and I think Bill Clinton was a great president,” he added.

“Lot of people hated him because they were jealous as hell. Bill Clinton was a great president. Hillary Clinton is a great woman and a good woman.”

In a blog post the same year, Mr Trump called Ms Clinton “smart”, “tough” and “nice”, attributing the same qualities to her husband.

“They are fine people. Hillary was roughed up by the media, and it was a tough campaign for her, but she’s a great trouper. Her history is far from being over.”

There was only one hint of his old views at the second debate last week.

When asked to pay her a compliment, Mr Trump said he respected the fact that she “didn’t give up” and was a “fighter”.