OP-ED: Hillary Clinton is Right, But Her Rhetoric is Wrong
The choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is an easy one
Hillary Clinton has once again gone viral for being correct.
Last Monday, the former Secretary of State appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to discuss the 2024 election. “What do you say to voters who are upset that those are the two choices,” Fallon asked in reference to those who are disillusioned with the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
“Get over yourself, those are the two choices,” Clinton said, “You know, it’s kind of like, one is old and effective and compassionate, has a heart and really cares about people; and one is old and has been charged with 91 felonies.” She continued, “I don’t understand why this is even a hard choice. Really. I don’t understand it.”
In response, the internet had a full-blown meltdown.
On Fox & Friends, Lawrence Jones responded that “I just think it’s a bad move, and this explains why she didn’t get elected, to tell voters to get over it. To tell them to get over themselves. That Joe Biden is all that you’re going to get instead of focusing on the issues that matter to the voters.”
Likewise, Glenn Greenwald said during an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show that “if I was a part of the Trump campaign, I would set aside as many funders I could to pay for Hillary Clinton to go on a speaking tour around the United States because I can’t imagine anything more helpful to their cause than to have her heard from as much as possible.”
This is not the first time that conservative media has tone policed Hillary Clinton for stating obvious facts. They were also wildly triggered in 2016 when the 68-year-old grandmother characterized half of Donald Trump’s base of support as “the basket of deplorables,” a quote which many have taken out of context. In both cases, critics have fussed over Clinton’s blunt delivery, but have refrained from dealing with the substance of her message.
While it’s fair to interpret Clinton’s remarks as dismissive and unproductive, there remains a double standard in how this story has been covered in the mainstream conservative press. Donald Trump is famous for his brash, unfiltered delivery and routinely lashes out at his political opponents. But when Hillary Clinton speaks candidly about how she can’t understand why the choice between Trump and Biden is so difficult, her rhetoric is subject to intense scrutiny by the very same people who celebrate Trump’s arrogant style. If not partisanship, this bias could probably be attributed to misogyny.
Some commentators, however, have offered good faith criticism of Hillary Clinton, such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who said that “you can bring up a whole bunch of things, but at the end of the day, the last thing you need to do is to do anything that could agitate a potential voter in this particular election.” Rather than telling voters to “get over themselves,” perhaps Clinton could have responded to Fallon’s question by acknowledging that it’s valid for voters to feel this way while drawing a clear distinction between Trump and Biden and outlining a policy agenda that excites a large cross-section of voters.
Nonetheless, the choice between Trump and Biden could not be more clear, as illustrated this week in a viral post on The David Pakman Show subreddit:
It is unfortunate that America does not have a more viable third party structure, but the reality is that either Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be re-elected in 2024. While some on the Litmus Test Left are dissatisfied with Joe Biden’s response to Israel, Donald Trump’s Middle East policy is far more hawkish. Joe Biden wants to build a pier to bring aid into Gaza and has asked Benjamin Netanyahu for some restraint. Donald Trump would not advocate for any restraint whatsoever. If these voters actually care about the wellbeing of Palestinians, then Joe Biden is the clear choice.
Joe Biden is the most progressive president since FDR. Donald Trump is a civilly liable sexual assaulter (which a judge determined met the definition of rape) who faces 88 felony counts in four separate indictments. He attempted to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election and openly muses about his desire to be a dictator. Hillary Clinton is correct – this is not a hard choice.
Hillary was right about everything & I will die mad that Trump was elected at all. Personally I get tired of the whining & complaining about the Democratic system because it could be so much worse. The founders knew it wasn’t perfect & will never be perfect, but they expected us to make it better, so are we? The press were always the ones that exposed bad actors to us. Instead we have fox not news lying about the candidates & just about everything else.
If you want to vote again & be in control of your representatives than you better Ride with Biden, not go to the dump with Trump.
This is a situation where a broken clock is right even twice a day. And I'm referring to the conservative commentary. Clinton lost because she's arrogant, thinks she know better, and talks
with the tone of talking down to every voter that doesn't completely agree with her, which is part of the reason the left was so surprised that she lost. She may be absolutely right (and I agree with her) but 93% of communication is not about what you say but how you say it. The Biden campaign should respectfully ask her not to make any public appearances until after the election. She actively hurts Biden's campaign by reminding people why they voted for Trump in the first place.