Mistakes made, Clinton says in defence
Ex-presidential candidate lays out the factors, as she sees them, that led to her loss
NEW YORK— In a candid and angry new book, Hillary Clinton relives her stunning defeat to Donald Trump, admitting to personal mistakes and defending campaign strategy even as her return to the stage refocuses attention on a race Democrats still can’t believe they lost.
Clinton is unsparing in her criticism of Trump and also lays out some factors she believes contributed to her loss: interference from Russian hackers, accusations levelled at her by former FBI director James Comey, a divisive primary battle with Bernie Sanders, even her gender.
She also addresses common criticisms of her campaign, including the idea that she didn’t have a compelling narrative for seeking the presidency and that she ignored Midwestern turf where Trump picked up enough white workingclass voters to win several battleground states.
“Some critics have said that everything hinged on me not campaigning enough in the Midwest,” Clinton writes in the book What Happened. “And I suppose it is possible that a few more trips to Saginaw or a few more ads on the air in Waukesha could have tipped a couple of thousand voters here or there.”
“But let’s set the record straight: we always knew that the industrial Midwest was crucial to our success, just as it had been for Democrats for decades, and contrary to the popular narrative, we didn’t ignore those states,” she wrote.
In the book, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release date, Clinton is unsparing in her assessment of the president, calling him “a clear and present danger to the country and the world.” She says she considered saying to Trump: “Back up, you creep. Get away from me,” when he loomed over her shoulder during a general election debate.
“You can blame the data, blame the message, blame anything you want — but I was the candidate,” she writes. “It was my campaign. Those were my decisions.”
She also expressed frustration over what she felt was unfair media coverage.
“What makes me such a lightning rod for fury? I’m really asking. I’m at a loss,” she asks her readers, before concluding: “I think it’s partly because I’m a woman.”