For many, the main goal is simply to get to November and get Trump out of the Oval Office. It’s a (very) worthy cause, but Hillary Clinton wants to remind you there are still primary elections, and you need to pay attention to them.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hillary discussed her upcoming docuseries on Hulu and her thoughts on this year’s election. When asked if she’d support Bernie Sanders if he got the nomination she said,
“I’m not going to go there yet. We’re still in a very vigorous primary season.”
But Clinton isn’t shy about her feelings toward Sanders. In her docuseries she says,
“He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done.”
And it’s not just his work that has rubbed her the wrong way, but also the way he, and his team, treat women in politics.
She explained,
“It’s not only [Bernie], it’s the culture around him. It’s his leadership team. It’s his prominent supporters. It’s his online Bernie Bros and their relentless attacks on lots of his competitors, particularly the women. And I really hope people are paying attention to that because it should be worrisome that he has permitted this culture — not only permitted, [he] seems to really be very much supporting it.”
It’s recently come up that Sanders told Elizabeth Warren (at some time or another) that he didn’t think a woman could win the 2020 election — something that quickly prompted many Bernie supporters to turn on Warren, calling her a snake and a liar on Twitter. It’s unclear what really went down between the two but if he really does believe that, he should be reminded that Clinton won her primary by more than 4 million votes, and the general election by more than 3 million votes.
One of the biggest challenges Clinton sees for the remaining women running in the 2020 primaries is the media and their narrative.
“It does seem to me that people are reverting back to stereotypes, and many of those are highly genderized. And it’s a shame.”
This means that as things continue to heat up over the next few months, people need to make a pointed effort to read past those stereotypes and, as Clinton says, “pay attention” to the culture candidates surround themselves with — especially Sanders.
It’s true that November is the big show, and hopefully a turning point. But Clinton’s statement is a firm reminder that there is more to fight for than simply getting Trump out of office — it’s getting misogyny, and everything that comes with, out of the White House.
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