During a live report in MSNBC’s 12 p.m. ET hour, as part of Hillary Clinton’s traveling press corps, Andrea Mitchell gushed over how pleased the campaign was with the Democratic nominee’s debate performance: “Well, you can imagine they feel very confident....There was applause by her staff when she boarded [the plane]. We’re in the back of the plane, as you well know, so we heard that from the front.”
Moments later, Mitchell added that Clinton “was obviously feeling her oats” and that “the preparation had worked.” The reporter further applauded: “So a very confident Hillary Clinton....Going after him [Trump] in particular on what he said about taxes and the suggestion that he seemed to be concurring with that he had perhaps not paid any federal taxes. They think that, that was a clean hit, as well as the gender issues.”
During a brief press conference aboard the campaign plane in the 10 a.m. ET hour, Mitchell teed up Clinton to hammer Trump on those “gender issues”: “What about the way he kept interrupting and the way he answered the question about gender. Do you think women would react to that?” Clinton remarked: “Well, I think his demeanor, his temperament, his behavior on the stage could be seen by everybody and people can draw their own conclusions.”
<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>
<<< Thank you for your support! >>>
In the 12 p.m. hour, Mitchell touted campaign talking points accusing Trump of sexism:
John Podesta is traveling with her today. That is not a usual occurrence. He came back and said that in particular on the way that Donald Trump talked to her, talked over her, was patronizing, they think. And talked to her about women, you know, the story that you have been reporting about Alicia Machado. They put that video out. They were prepared for that. And that, that reminds a lot of women about the way they’ve been bullied, said Podesta.
Here is a full transcript of Mitchell’s report:
12:37 PM ET
KRISTEN WELKER: Hillary Clinton on her campaign plane this morning. She just landed in North Carolina for her first post-debate stop in Raleigh. Andrea Mitchell is traveling with the Clinton campaign, my colleague. So Andrea, great to see you. You had that great exchange with her today. I know you're right there talking to all of her campaign officials. So in addition to what she told you, what is the mood within the campaign right now?
ANDREA MITCHELL: Well, you can imagine they feel very confident, Kristen. There was applause by her staff when she boarded. We’re in the back of the plane, as you well know, so we heard that from the front.
John Podesta is traveling with her today. That is not a usual occurrence. He came back and said that in particular on the way that Donald Trump talked to her, talked over her, was patronizing, they think. And talked to her about women, you know, the story that you have been reporting about Alicia Machado. They put that video out. They were prepared for that. And that, that reminds a lot of women about the way they’ve been bullied, said Podesta.
Then she came back and she was obviously feeling her oats. The preparation had worked, the kind of rehearsing with Philippe Reines, her former staff member. You’ve been reporting the things that they practiced.
We got a little background on what they think was most important. In particular, she said that she wants to talk policy and when asked whether – well, about the whole implied threat that Donald Trump is going to go nasty and talk about their personal lives, Bill Clinton's personal life in particular, she said that he can run the campaign that he wants to, she's gonna run the campaign that she plans to run.
And that also, when asked whether there was any possibility that he would not show up for the next debate, although he has said he would. But there's been other suggestions, as you know, by Rudy Giuliani and others – we are on this moving bus and it's a little bit rocky right now, so you know the drill – she said, well, she's going to be there at Wash U in St. Louis whether or not he shows up or not.
So a very confident Hillary Clinton on voter registration day. You’ve heard what Joe Biden’s been saying at Drexel University, really going after Donald Trump. Going after him in particular on what he said about taxes and the suggestion that he seemed to be concurring with that he had perhaps not paid any federal taxes. They think that, that was a clean hit, as well as the gender issues. And what he said about Barack Obama during that birther comment and one of the other comments where he said “your president.” And that was something that Podesta also pointed out. Kristen?
WELKER: And Andrea, I do know the drill being on those buses. It is not easy and you’re making it look easy. I’m going to ask you one more question before I let you go. The campaign obviously, in addition to all of those hits you just mentioned from last night, they really want to be expanding their support among those younger millennial voters. What are they saying about the strategy to try to win more of them over and they likely feel as though they did some of that last night. But obviously these next days are gonna be critical.
MITCHELL: Yeah, and they are trying to do that. That was part of the strategy last night. But they’ve got to – they’ve got a lot of work to do, they know that. She's going to a community college here, you know that Joe Biden was at the Drexel campus, which was a stronghold for Bernie Sanders. Tomorrow, she will be campaigning with Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, in Durham, New Hampshire at the university. So they are going to keep hitting campuses. Chelsea Clinton’s going out. Bill Clinton in Toledo today. And those are going to be the appeals that they continue to make to try to get more of those millennials who have not been coming to her in droves. And they’re also concerned about Gary Johnson and about any upside that he may have in especially in battleground states. Kristen, thanks by the way...
WELKER: Andrea Mitchell, my partner on the trail.
MITCHELL: ...for helping out today.
WELKER: Oh, Andrea, you know it is my honor. The indefatigable Andrea Mitchell. Thank you for getting a shot up just moments after you landed. Pretty impressive. Andrea, great to talk with you. Thank you.
