Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday on CNN that what President Biden and Democrats have done on inflation was “truly impressive,” despite surveys showing her party underwater on its handling of the economy.
“CNN This Morning” host Don Lemon asked Clinton about Democratic messaging in the context of polling that showed the economy and inflation were the most important issue for voters. Lemon asked if Democrats had the “right messaging” heading into the midterm elections.
“What I wish we could convey more effectively is that if you look at what has been accomplished in the first two years of the Biden presidency with the Congress working hand in hand, there has been an enormous amount of commitment of new building, new infrastructure, new investments in manufacturing, new ways to lower health care costs, insulin prices going down, drug prescription prices going down,” Clinton said. “In fact, the work that has been done by the Democrats in helping the economy and helping people deal with what is global inflation, not just American inflation, is truly impressive. And we got to get that message across more effectively.”
Hillary Clinton joins "CNN This Morning" to discuss the midterm elections.
(Screenshot/CNN/CNNThisMorning)
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A recent Quinnipiac poll found inflation remains the top issue for voters going into the election, and President Biden holds a 34% approval on his handling of the economy. Inflation hit 40-year domestic highs this year, and the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates four times in an effort to combat it.
Lemon wondered why voters weren’t understanding what Clinton said and asked about her plans to campaign with Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., who is running against Republican Lee Zeldin.
“It is a blue state. And that is a signal that something is amiss here, that Democrats are nervous in a blue state like New York. So why isn’t that message getting across? Why is Kathy Hochul, you know, neck and neck with Lee Zeldin?” Lemon asked.
Clinton said it was a turnout issue and said she expected Hochul to win the election.
“But a midterm election is always difficult for the party in power. Whoever is the president in the White House, we have seen that over and over again in recent history. So our job is to convince our voters to turn out. Because if they turn out, then there’s no doubt that we will win. But it is an uphill battle in a midterm election to convince people to get out and vote, whereas the other side is motivated because they want change at any cost,” she added.
Hillary Clinton at the Venice Film Festival.
(Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
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Clinton questioned whether voters truly understood what was at stake in these upcoming midterm elections during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Reidout” on Tuesday.
“I think that with all of the noise that we’ve gotten in this election season I don’t think that people are really able to grasp that. But more importantly, I’m not sure they really understand the threats to their way of life. They may think that whoever’s chairing a committee, you know, kind of abstract. But the Republicans in the House and others like the chair of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee [Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.] are on record saying they’re going to put Social Security and Medicare up for a vote,” Clinton said.
People shop in a supermarket as rising inflation affects consumer prices in Los Angeles.
(Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
