NEW YORK – JUNE 16: Hillary Clinton attends the 77th Annual Tony Awards Ceremony, broadcast live on the CBS Television Network from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on Sunday, June 16.
Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Vice President Harris can overcome the “double standards in American politics” and defeat former President Trump in the next presidential election.
“I know something about how hard it is for a strong woman candidate to combat the sexism and double standards in American politics,” Clinton said in a New York Times opinion piece published on Tuesday. “I’ve been called a witch, a ‘nasty woman’ and worse. I’ve even been made into an effigy and burned at fire.”
“As a candidate, there were times when I was hesitant to talk about making history because I wasn’t sure voters were ready for it,” Clinton continued. “I didn’t run to break barriers; I ran because I thought I was the best person for the job. And while it still hurts me that I didn’t break the highest, most solid glass ceiling, I’m proud that I ran for president twice and helped make it normal for a woman to be a top candidate.”
Harris has emerged as a leading Democratic candidate after President Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, and if elected, she would be the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.
Clinton herself broke barriers in 2016 when she became the first female major party presidential nominee, but lost the general election to Trump.
“Elections are about the future,” Clinton said in the article. “That’s why I’m excited about Vice President Kamala Harris. She represents a fresh start in American politics. She can offer a hopeful and unifying vision. She is talented, experienced and ready to be president. And I am confident she can defeat Donald Trump.”
In her piece, Clinton contrasted Harris with Trump, calling her “a talented former prosecutor and successful vice president who embodies the belief that America’s best is yet to come” and Trump “a convicted felon who only thinks about himself and is trying to turn back the clock on our rights and our country.”
“This is a conflict between old grievances and new solutions,” Clinton said.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign.
