On Thursday, April 6, former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke at a women's conference in New York, according to the NY Times. In what could be considered her first in-depth interview since her crushing defeat in last year's election, she was abnormally transparent as she condemned both Russian interference in her recent campaign and the new White House administration.
Hillary Clinton claimed Russian involvement was the primary reason for her presidential defeat
According to Clinton, she didn't know the Putin-authorized email intrusions from the Russians would be as impactful as they ended up being, but she went on to express just how complicated she thought the operation actually was.
Clinton claimed both trolls and social media bots were used to spread incorrect information about the former Secretary of State and her team. Calling for an in-depth investigation of the now infamous Russian involvement, Clinton added that she hopes Congress will realize that the recent success the Kremlin had in disrupting the election means they aren't going anywhere soon. She vowed that if American officials didn't band together to "hold whoever was involved accountable, they would be back time and time again."
Clinton ripped the White House administration to shreds
Regarding the new White House administration, Clinton cut straight to the chase, describing the day-to-day operations of President Trump's team as "chaotic functioning." She also suggested that women are now particularly vulnerable, indicating that "the targeting of women" is "beyond any political agenda." She was referring pointedly to the US' recent move to stop contributing to the United Nations Population Fund, the world's largest provider of family planning services.
A case could also be made, however, for the Trump administration's repeated efforts to kill Obamacare and withdraw insurance coverage for birth control. Clinton continued her critique by slamming Trump's recent travel bans aimed at immigrants, joking that with the way things were going, countries would soon forget Lady Liberty still stood in the New York Harbor.
The former secretary of state will not be running for office again anytime soon
As to whether or not she would pursue politics again, perhaps with a position as the mayor of New York City, the 69-year-old was pretty clear. She indicated that while she didn't see herself running for any office again, she was puzzled as to why her approval rating, which was relatively high when she was secretary of state, didn't help her secure the presidential seat.
She joked that the public made her out to be as unpopular as she could be. The difference, she claimed, as to why she was liked while under Obama and not during her campaign, was that she had been doing a job a man had asked her to do.
Mrs. Clinton was in relatively high spirits as she engaged with the audience. Now out of the limelight, she said she has been working on a book that she hopes will shed some light on the events that ended with her losing the presidential vote. She ended her dialogue by illustrating how worried she was about the state of the country.
