It’s a big primary day in the Midwest, but Hillary Clinton isn’t doing voter outreach in Wisconsin. Instead, she’s in New York, home of the next big delegate prize, taking her message to The View. And as moderator Whoopi Goldberg said in her introduction of Clinton, “You can’t argue with this résumé.”
Entering to her campaign theme “Fight Song,” Clinton got a thundering reception from the mostly female audience, complete with a “Hillary! Hillary!” chant. The Democratic frontrunner, who is facing a similar threat to her nomination in Bernie Sanders to the one she succumbed to in 2008 with Barack Obama, began by sharing some of the lessons she’s carried into her current campaign. In a shot at Sanders, and perhaps Obama, Clinton said the biggest test for a president is the ability to “actually produce results for people, not just talk about it.”
But quickly, thanks to co-host Joy Behar, the conversation turned to this issue of sexism in the 2016 race, on both sides of the nomination process. Referencing Trump’s Twitter attacks on Heidi Cruz, his campaign manager’s battery against a reporter, and comments about “punishing” women for getting abortions, Behar asked, “What do you think will happen to women if Trump wins, god forbid?”
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Clinton made sure to point out that Trump has “insulted everybody,” not just women, but she also drew attention to her potential rival’s bizarre feud with Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who she called a “superb journalist.”
“I just don’t understand what he thinks is the role of somebody running for president,” she continued. “I don’t think it is to scapegoat people, divide people, engage in this kind of prejudice and paranoia. So it’s not only women and we who should be concerned, it's everybody, because of the way that he conducts himself. I reject it.”
While Clinton played up her rivalry with Trump, she also played down any animosity between herself and Sanders. “I’m very proud of the campaign that Senator Sanders and I have run, because we’ve run it on issues compared to insults,” she said. “We’ve really tried to stay on issues and where we stand and what we would do, but we do have contrasts.” She pointed to a difference on guns as one example.
But at the same time Clinton also stressed how difficult she believes it will be for Sanders to overtake her in the delegate math. “We’ve won some, he’s won some,” she said of the primary and caucuses to date, “but I have 2.5 million more votes than he does, and I have a very, very significant lead in delegates, which is what eventually decides who the nominee is.” Of course, many of those are superdelegates, who were already pledged to Clinton before people started voting.
Behar, who made no efforts to hide her personal bias toward Clinton, said she finds her to be “so warm and lovely and authentic.” She wondered why so many people seem to find her untrustworthy and inauthentic.
“Obviously, I’ve thought a lot about it because I don’t like to hear it and I have to find out what’s behind it,” Clinton answered. “I think that some of it is, I am perhaps a more serious person, a more reserved person than is kind of in the arena these days.” On the question of being “inauthentic,” she added, “I don’t understand that, because I’ve been pretty much the same person my entire life, for better or worse.”
Later in the program, co-host Paula Faris returned to these themes by bringing up Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State. “The FBI and Justice Department prosecutors are reportedly gearing up to interview you and some of your closest aides,” she said. “Do you think that this is a big reason why there’s a large contingent of people out there that don’t feel that you’re trustworthy, because of the email scandal, and will you ever put it behind you?”
“Oh, I’m sure I will because there’s nothing to it,” she said. “I am going to be very open, as I have been since last summer. I’ve said any time you want to talk to me, here I am, but nothing inappropriate was done.” At the same time, she once again admitted it wasn’t the “best decision” to make at the time.
Co-host Candace Cameron-Bure also asked Clinton if she believes someone can be both “pro-life” and a “feminist.” According to the candidate, they are not “mutually exclusive.”
“I respect the opinions and beliefs of every woman,” Clinton said. “The reason why being pro-choice is the right way to go is because it is a choice, and hopefully a choice that is rooted in the thoughtfulness and the care that women bring to this decision. So of course you can be a feminist and be pro-life.” Though, inherently those who are “pro-life” do not believe women should have that particular “choice.”
Just as Whoopi Goldberg was beginning to ask Clinton how she thought the repercussions of the email issue might impact her in the general election, she was forced to cut to commercial. When the show came back from a break, they had moved on to a discussion about Hillary Clinton the grandmother. Moving into lighter territory, they asked her about her favorite binge-watch (Madam Secretary), music (Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, and Adele) and celebrity crush (George Clooney, who just happens to be hosting a high-roller fundraiser for her later this month).
And because this is 2016, the whole thing ended with a group selfie.
