Former Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton bristled at the prospect of a female Republican winning the White House, fretting that it would condemn women to be subordinates of the patriarchy.
Clinton, 77, argued that, with few exceptions, female Republicans tend to undermine feminist ideals while reflecting on the advice she’d give to women seeking the presidency.
“Well, first of all, don’t be a handmaiden to the patriarchy, which kind of eliminates every woman on the other side of the aisle, except for very few,” Clinton sniped with a sigh during a forum at The 92nd Street Y in New York City earlier this month.
Clinton’s remarks were made on May 1, but footage of the exchange didn’t surface until last week and was unearthed by the Daily Caller.
Examples of Republican women who aren’t “handmaidens to the patriarchy” include Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), according to Clinton.
“There’s a few,” she admitted.
Moderator Margaret Hoover, a Republican pundit and host of PBS’ “Firing Line,” refrained from pushing back against Clinton on that point. Hoover’s husband, John Avlon, unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) last year.
The former secretary of state and first lady also lamented how women haven’t yet been able to punch through the glass ceiling and win the presidency, referencing both her and former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeats.
“Look, first we have to get there, and it is, you know, obviously so much harder than it should be,” Clinton continued. “So, you know, if a woman runs who I think would be a good president — as I thought Kamala Harris would be, and as I knew I would be — I will support that woman.”
Unlike Clinton, Harris largely refrained from harping too much on gender politics during her 107-day sprint for the presidency in the 2024 election cycle.
Harris also significantly outperformed President Trump with female voters, according to exit poll data.
Beyond Harris and Clinton, former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley had made inroads on the Republican presidential primary in 2024 but fell far short of beating Trump for the party nod.
Clinton has previously dissed GOP women.
In 2019, she published a book titled “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience,” which listed over 100 women. Clinton later defended her decision not to include former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the tome.
“She doesn’t fit the other part of the definition in our opinion, which is really knocking down barriers for others and trying to make a positive difference,” Clinton told BBC radio at the time. “I think the record is mixed with her.”
Clinton infamously landed in hot water during the 2016 campaign cycle for placing a large swatch of Trump supporters in what she called the “basket of deplorables.” She later expressed “regret” over that comment.
