Hillary Clinton’s book tour might be good for sales, but congressional Democrats have begun venting that it’s not so good for the effort to build a forward-facing strategy to confront President Trump and his agenda.
Clinton’s new memoir, ‘What Happened,’ rehashes some of the most charged moments of her historic loss – from her fury at her treatment by Donald Trump on the debate stage to her complains about primary rival Bernie Sanders and TV questioner Matt Lauer.
What some Democrats argue is that by settling scores, Clinton is distracting from leaderless party’s efforts to unify and resist Trump agenda on taxes, immigration, regulations, nominees, and national security.
Democrats are complaining about the complaining Hillary Clinton does in her new memoir
‘I’ve always been a looking forward kind of a guy,’ Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Politico, as the excerpts from Clinton’s book began drawing headlines. ‘I think I’ll leave it at that.’
After a report on Clinton’s criticism of Bernie Sanders, who isn’t ruling out another run in 2020, Rep. Jared Huffman wrote on Twitter: ‘Please Hillary, don’t go there. I supported you. Bernie showed restraint & class & ran aspirational campaign. Politics is rough sometimes.’
Huffman (D-Calif.) told Politico: ‘There is a collective groan,’ he said, ‘whenever there’s another news cycle about this.’
He added: ‘Maybe at the worst possible time, as we are fighting some of the most high-stakes policy and institutional battles we may ever see, at a time when we’re trying to bring the party together so we can all move the party forward — stronger, stronger together’ – Clinton’s campaign slogan.
Hillary Clinton pointed the finger at passionate anti-Trump supporters who attended a women’s march after her historic loss
‘She’s got every right to tell her story. Who am I to say she shouldn’t, or how she should tell it? But it is difficult for some of us, even like myself who’ve supported her, to play out all these media cycles about the blame game, and the excuses,’ he said.
One unnamed Clinton surrogate and fundraiser told the Hill, ‘The best thing she could do is disappear. She’s doing harm to all of us because of her own selfishness. Honestly, I wish she’d just shut the f— up and go away.’
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a friend of Clinton’s who also ran for president, said: ‘I respect and admire and am a friend of Hillary’s. But with these kind of things that happen in life, you’ve got to move on. You’ve got to quickly move on.’
Clinton has added another name her long list of grievances about those who cost her the election, this time singling out energized anti-Trump women marchers for failing to deliver before her historic loss.
Clinton referenced the throngs of protesters who took the streets of Washington and other cities in a Women’s march shortly after his election. But her thoughts moved from the calls to resistance to the Trump agenda to why they hadn’t summoned that same passion for her own campaign.
The Clintons have earned $23 million from prior books not including this one, Forbes reported.
IN THE BAG: According to Hillary Clinton’s new memoir, President Barack Obama told her on election ever, ‘You’ve got this’
‘I couldn’t help but ask where those feelings of solidarity, outrage and passion had been during the election,’ Clinton writes in reference to a post-election women’s march
‘I couldn’t help but ask where those feelings of solidarity, outrage and passion had been during the election,’ Clinton writes in her new memoir, ‘What Happened.’
Clinton also goes after NBC’s ‘Today Show’ host Matt Lauer for his handling of a presidential forum, conducted on the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York last September.
She writes that she was ‘ticked off’ and ‘almost physically sick’ by Lauer’s persistent focus on her email scandal.
Another passage describes her great discomfort while Trump followed her around a presidential debate stage.
Another passage reveals how former President Obama, still in many ways the leading figure in the Democratic Party, gave her bad advice the night before the election.
‘You’ve got this. I’m so proud of you,’ Obama told her, Clinton writes.
Just hours later, Obama was counseling Clinton to concede on election night, Clinton writes, in a portion of the book reported by CNN. He didn’t want her to drag out the angry and prolonged campaign.
Clinton also takes a shot at another potential Democratic 2020 nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, who deferred to her, helping hand her the nomination after she beat back a far weaker Sanders.
Clinton owns up to some errors, but also takes a dig at former Vice President Joe Biden for putting out a critique of her campaign.
‘Joe Biden said the Democratic Party in 2016 ‘did not talk about what it always stood for – and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class,” Clinton wrote. ‘I find this fairly remarkable, considering that Joe himself campaigned for me all over the Midwest and talked plenty about the middle class.’
Biden, 74, still gets mentioned on the long list of possible Democratic challengers in 2020.
Defeat threw Clinton into ‘pain and shock,’ according to the Enquirer excerpt. ‘Friends advised on me the power of Xanax and raved about their amazing therapists,’ she writes – without revealing whether she took the guidance.
She admits trying to drink away her troubles at times.
‘I drank my share of chardonnay. Taking a page from the pre-heart attack version of her husband, Clinton says she was ‘splurging on burgers and fries’ and ‘enjoying every bite.’
Clinton makes efforts to understand her loss, accepting some blame even while pointing the finger at others including rival Bernie Sanders and going after former FBI Director James Comey for ‘shivving’ her.