The fight must go on: Hillary Clinton joins “the resistance”

People


The fight must go on: Hillary Clinton joins “the resistance”

By Nicola Rachel Colyer

8 years ago

After taking time out following the gruelling election campaign and her heartbreaking defeat, Hillary Clinton is back and ready for action.

Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at the Women for Women International luncheon in New York this week, Clinton confirmed that she is “back to being an activist citizen and part of the resistance.”

Addressing the audience, which included Meryl Streep, Donna Karan and Sophie Turner, Clinton discussed her 2016 loss to Donald Trump, covering topics ranging from Russian interference to the impact of misogyny and, of course, Trump himself.

While Clinton accepted “personal responsibility” for her loss, it was clear that she has not forgotten the events that occurred in the final days of the campaign – and that she ultimately blames those events for her defeat.

"If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president.

"I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me and got scared off.”



When Clinton referenced the fact that she won three million more votes than Trump, prompting Amanpour to joke that Trump would soon be chiming in on Twitter, Clinton seized upon the opportunity to make clear her opinion of the President’s unusual approach to politics, stating that it would be “better than the interfering in foreign affairs.”

She continued, “if he wants to tweet about me than I am happy to be the diversion because we have lot of things to worry about. He should worry less about the election and my winning the popular vote than doing some other things that would be important for the country.”

Clinton delivered further condemnation of Trump as she accused him of collaborating with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"He certainly interfered in our election and it was clear he interfered to hurt me and helped my opponent,” she said. “If you chart my opponent and his campaign's statements, they quite coordinated with the goals that leader, who shall remain nameless, had.”

Clinton went on to say that she believed misogyny had also played its part in her defeat and that she remains focused on ensuring that the progress that’s been made toward gender equality is maintained.

“Whatever your political party, whatever your ideological bent, you have a stake, as a woman and a man, in ensuring that the promise of equality that we hold out and the efforts that so many women and men have made over the decades to secure it don’t go backwards.”


Watch: How Trump’s policies could affect women


Clinton noted that her election as the first female president of the United States “would have been a really big deal”.

A vocal advocate of women’s rights, Clinton went on to to say that “there is still so much inequality, so much unfairness, so much disrespect and discrimination toward women and girls.”

“So have we made progress? Yes, we have,” she continued. “But have we made enough? No we haven’t and it’s not a minor issue, it’s not a luxury issue you get to after everything else is resolved. It is central to the maintenance, stability, sustainability of democracy, and human rights. It is critical to our national security.

“Part of what I really believe is that women’s rights is the unfinished business of the 21st century. There is no more important, larger issue that has to be addressed.”

Clinton also expressed her concern over pay inequality, commenting that “it’s really troubling to me we’re still grappling with how to deal in an economy to ensure that people who do the work that’s expected of them are given a fair wage. We’re not just at a stall point, we’re going backwards.”

Diving straight into her new role as part of “the resistance”, Clinton took the opportunity to use her platform to publicly request that the Trump administration “not end our efforts making women's rights and opportunities” central to US policy.

See the full interview here.

Images: REX

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