Hillary Clinton gave her first interview following Donald Trump being anointed as the presumptive 2016 Republican presidential nominee Wednesday afternoon and in the midst of a classic softball, scandal-free interview by CNN's Anderson Cooper, Clinton demanded her liberal media friends “make the tough decisions” and “get serious” in attacking Trump.
Cooper guided Clinton toward this lecture by informing her that Trump has been “run[ning] a different kind of campaign than anyone else certainly on the GOP side” by “mak[ing] himself more available to reporters, he calls in.”
That being said, he wondered: “I mean, is that something you're going to start doing more of?”
Clinton acknowledged that Trump has used an unconventional media strategy to seize the nomination, but declared that the media should “now have a chance to ask some tougher questions” because “[i]t’s not enough to call in and give somebody a platform.”
“It's now the time to make the tough decisions, and you've got to the ask him, okay, so what exactly would you replace X, Y and Z with,” she added.
After running through a laundry list of issues, Clinton turned back to giving the media who adore her so dearly and rewarded her with Trump’s candidacy a final few suggestions:
Hey, I think it's time to get serious. The man is the presumptive nominee, and, you know, being a loose cannon doesn't in any way protect him, I hope, from being asked the hard questions that he should have been asked during the whole primary process.
The rest of the interview both before and after this exchange included Cooper asking her what her mood was when she found out Ted Cruz was suspending his campaign and a series of questions revolving around whether she’s “ready for Donald Trump” and his “unflattering nickname for you.”
Playing along with Clinton’s description of Trump as a “loose cannon,” Cooper fretted: “If he's a loose cannon, though, he's certainly willing to say things during against a race against opponents. We've seen this already that a lot of candidates were not prepared for on the GOP side. Are you ready for that?”
Of course, a softball interview wouldn’t be complete without a question that tees up Clinton to slam Republicans (using comments from Elizabeth Warren):
COOPER: Elizabeth Warren said Donald Trump has built his campaign on racism, xenophobia and sexism. Do you agree with that?
CLINTON: I think Elizabeth Warren is very smart.
COOPER: You agree with all those things?
CLINTON: Anybody who’s listened to him and how he’s talked can certainly draw that conclusion.
COOPER: Do you think he's a racist?
CLINTON: I'm going to let people judge for themselves, but I have the highest regard for Senator Warren.
Again voicing his concern among liberals that Trump could exhume any number of Clinton scandals from the past few decades, Cooper dropped this question as Clinton burst out laughing:
There are Democrats who are just worried about you against Trump, that you're not ready for whatever he may throw at you, that he's — I mean, up a lot of stuff about a lot of people that nobody could have predicted. I mean, he was quoting from the National Enquirer just yesterday. You know, there’s — he's made references to your marriage, to your husband. Are you prepared?
The relevant portions of the live interview from CNN Newsroom on May 4 can be found below.
CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin
May 4, 2016
2:13 p.m. Eastern
ANDERSON COOPER: Secretary Clinton, thanks very much for joining us.
HILLARY CLINTON: Good to talk to you.
COOPER: Just take us back to last night, the moment Ted Cruz dropped out and you realized who the nominee in the Republican Party was going to be.
(....)
COOPER: Assuming you get the Democratic nomination.
CLINTON: Right.
COOPER: Are you ready for Donald Trump? I mean, he's already got an unflattering nickname for you? He's unlike any other candidate probably certainly you've ever run against, anybody people have seen in a long time.
CLINTON: Anderson, I've seen the presidency up close from two different perspectives, and I think I know what it takes, and I don't think we can take a risk on a loose cannon like Donald Trump running our country. You know, Donald Trump has said it's okay for other countries to get nuclear weapons. I think that's just downright dangerous. He has said wages are too high. I think we need to have a raise for the American people, raise the minimum wage, get wages back going up. I think when he says women should be punished for having abortions, that is, you know, just beyond anything that I can imagine, I think most women can imagine.
COOPER: He did walk that back.
CLINTON: Well, he's a loose cannon. He's somebody who has said so many things, and I'm sure he'll be scrambling and his advisers will be scrambling, but he's already said all of these things. He says climate change is a Chinese hoax, and I think it's real. We've got to pull the world together to deal with it. You can do down a long list some of which he's tried to bob and weave a bit, but I think it's a risk. He is a loose cannon and loose cannons tend to misfire.
COOPER: If he's a loose cannon, though, he's certainly willing to say things during against a race against opponents. We've seen this already that a lot of candidates were not prepared for on the GOP side. Are you ready for that?
(....)
COOPER: He does run a different kind of campaign than anyone else certainly on the GOP side. He makes himself more available to reporters, he calls in. I mean, is that something you're going to start doing more of?
CLINTON: Oh, well look, he did it and it worked for him and I think reporters now have a chance to ask some tougher questions. It's not enough to call in and give somebody a platform. It's now the time to make the tough decisions, and you've got to the ask him, okay, so what exactly would you replace X, Y and Z with? If you're going to be against trade agreements, how is that going to work? I'm against bad trade agreements. I'm for, you know, fair and free trade. I voted against some of the trade agreements that came before me when I was actually a Senator, so let's get to the specifics. If you think wages are too high, how do you look Americans in the eye and say hey, I know you haven't had a raise for 15 years, but I don't think you deserve one. If you're going to have a budget that slashes taxes on the wealthy and throws our economy and our federal budget into the worst downward spiral of debt, tell us how that's going to work. Hey, I think it's time to get serious. The man is the presumptive nominee, and, you know, being a loose cannon doesn't in any way protect him, I hope, from being asked the hard questions that he should have been asked during the whole primary process.
(....)
COOPER: Elizabeth Warren said Donald Trump has built his campaign on racism, xenophobia and sexism. Do you agree with that?
CLINTON: I think Elizabeth Warren is very smart.
COOPER: You agree with all those things?
CLINTON: Anybody who’s listened to him and how he’s talked can certainly draw that conclusion.
COOPER: Do you think he's a racist?
CLINTON: I'm going to let people judge for themselves, but I have the highest regard for Senator Warren.
(....)
COOPER: There are Democrats who are just worried about you against Trump, that you're not ready for whatever he may throw at you, that he's — I mean, up a lot of stuff about a lot of people that nobody could have predicted. I mean, he was quoting from the National Enquirer just yesterday. You know, there’s — he's made references to your marriage, to your husband. Are you prepared?
CLINTON: Well, I mean, he’s not the first one, Anderson. I just can’t — I can’t say this often enough. If he wants to back to the playbook of the 1990s, if he wants to follow in the foot steps of those who have tried to knock me down and take me out of the political arena, I'm more than happy to have him do that.
COOPER: You're ready for that?
CLINTON: Oh, please. I mean, look, this — this is — this is to me a classic case of a blustering, bullying guy who — who has knocked out of the way all of the Republicans because they were just dumbfounded. They didn't know how to deal with him and they couldn't take him on on the issues and they basically agreed with him and they didn't know how to count counterpunch him?
COOPER: Do you think they waited too long?
(....)
COOPER: Just finally, Senator Sanders is obviously taking issue with people calling you the presumptive nominee on the Democratic side. What do you say to his supporters? Should you be considered the presumptive nominee at this point?
(....)
COOPER: And I know I said finally, but just,one more question. Donald Trump has talked about what he would look for in as a vice president, someone with congressional experience, to reach out to Congress. Obviously, I'm not asking you who you would pick, but what qualities would you look for? Is there something that you would like to kind of — a space you would like to fill in?
