Two-time Democratic presidential loser Hillary Clinton set social media ablaze over a comment she made during an interview on CNN this week.
In a video clip posted online, Clinton was discussing how many Republicans sided with Democrats on a short-term continuing resolution last week to keep the government funded for another 45 days.
“You saw the number of Republicans who voted along with Democrats to keep the government open, so there’s clearly a common sense, sane part of the Republican caucus in the House. But I think they are intimidated,” she began in the clip.
“They oftentimes, you know, say and do things which they know better than to say or do, and it will require us defeating those most extreme measures and the people who promote them in order to try to get to some common ground where people can again work together,” she added, noting that in the past, there were “bitter battles” over issues but no “extremism.”
“That’s the way it used to be. I mean, we had very strong partisans in both parties in the past, and we had very bitter battles over all kinds of things: gun control, and climate change, and the economy, and taxes. But there wasn’t this little tail of extremism wagging the dog of the Republican Party as it is today,” she said, bringing Trump into the picture.
“And sadly, so many of those extremists, those MAGA extremists, take their marching orders from Donald Trump, who has no credibility left by any measure. He’s only in it for himself,” she said.
“He’s now defending himself in civil actions and criminal actions, and when do they break with him? You know, because at some point, you know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members. But something needs to happen,” she added.
Rather than respond to such a suggestion — critics online likened Clinton’s remark to so-called “reeducation camps” used by authoritarian regimes around the world against political enemies — CNN’s Christiane Amanpour simply asked Clinton to describe what ‘deprogramming’ might look like.
“At this point, I think, sadly, he will still be the nominee and we have to defeat him and we have to defeat those who are the election deniers, as we did in 2020 and 2022, and we have to just be smarter about how we are trying to empower the right people inside the Republican Party,” Clinton responded — without Amanpour reminding her that she and most other Democrats decried Trump as “illegitimate” after he beat her and accused him of “stealing” the election.
Needless to say, her remarks were ripped online.
Apparently she didn’t learn very much from the fallout from her “basket of deplorables” comment.
— Charles R Cherry (@CharlesRCherry) October 6, 2023
Such a statement only further divides people. Dialogue and understanding is the way forward, not labeling and dismissing. 🤦♂️🌎
— Bjorn Solstad (@bjornfix) October 6, 2023
What is a “formal deprogramming,” and why does it sound like something that would happen at a camp?
— Abby Libby (@abbythelibb_) October 6, 2023
There once was an odd little man, with a funny little mustache, that had the same idea about “deprogramming” a group of people that didn’t agree with him. 🤔
— Felipe Santamaria (@FelipeNenvigado) October 6, 2023
Late last month, during an interview with MSNBC host Jen Psaki, who previously served as the press secretary for President Joe Biden’s White House, Clinton revived a ‘warning’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to influence the 2024 U.S. election.
Clinton went on to describe Putin as “a kind of creeping fascism, almost, of people [in the U.S.] who are really ready to turn over their thinking, their votes, to wannabe dictators.”
The “dictator” reference appeared to be aimed at Trump, given that Clinton went on to mock Republicans for “denying” Russian election meddling in the U.S.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
