The Democratic Party attempts to distance itself from Hillary Clinton as she continues to discuss what went wrong during the 2016 presidential election against President Donald Trump. Several of her close aids also said that the former Democratic presidential nominee is still being obsessed with the elections and that she should back away from the discussion about her failed campaign because it’s harmful to the party.
According to The Hill, during a conference in India this weekend, Clinton called states that supported her in the election more economically advanced than the states that backed Trump. Clinton also commented that the women who voted for Trump were motivated by “ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son, whoever believes you should.”
In interviews with The Hill on Tuesday, even the staunchest Clinton allies, as well as longtime advisers, say the comments were cringeworthy and ultimately detrimental to Democrats.
“She put herself in a position where [Democrats] from states that Trump won will have to distance themselves from her even more,” said one former senior Clinton aide. “That’s a lot of states.”
Several Democrats are arguing that Clinton’s sentiments have been counterproductive to the party’s rebuilding efforts, adding that she should emulate former President Obama’s model to only make statements when it’s essential. Even before she launched her book tour last fall for “What Happened,” party strategists have said Clinton should lay low.
“She’s annoying me. She’s annoying everyone, as far as I can tell,” said one 2016 Clinton surrogate. “Who lets her say these things?”
One former senior Obama White House aide added, “If these statements are a form of catharsis, it would be in the Democratic Party’s best interest for her to get these out of her system soon.”
“We need leaders like her to look forward to 2020 and how to unify the party, not continue to re-litigate the past.”
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee (RNC) also criticized Clinton’s remarks. On Monday, Mike Reed, the deputy communications director at the RNC, emailed reporters to pile on.
“At the RNC, we try not to continue to focus on Hillary Clinton. We really do try very hard,” Reed said. “But this one is impossible to ignore.”
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