In response to a widely-criticized New York Times piece suggesting Hillary Clinton has become a "master troll," Juan Williams said she is just following the lead of past presidential candidates.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who lost to former President Barack Obama in 2012 and the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who lost to Obama in 2008, were not described in the same terms when they spoke out in the media after their defeats, Williams claimed Tuesday on "The Five."
"This is her," he said, after The Times noted how Clinton referred to President Trump as a "corrupt human tornado" and suggested 2016 Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein and 2020 hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, were assets of the Russian government.
"When I look at people who lost the presidential races -- so I'm looking at Mitt Romney and John McCain -- John McCain was back in the Senate going after Barack Obama as I recall.
NY TIMES BLASTED FOR HILLARY CLINTON 'PUFF PIECE' CALLING HER A 'MASTER TROLL'
"Mitt Romney ran for Senate and won in Utah and now he's even got something to say about Trump."
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Williams continued, claiming the two Republicans have received less pushback for their critiques of political rivals or presidents they've lost elections to than Clinton has.
"Nobody tells these guys to shut up, and so why would you say 'Oh, Hillary -- the lady should shut up'?" he asked.
Turning his attention to Gabbard's incoming critiques from Clinton, Williams claimed the Hawaii Democrat plans to "create turmoil" at the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis. -- whether or not she wins the nomination.
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"Are you rooting against the Democrats even as you run for the nomination?" he asked.
In an analysis piece, Times reporter Lisa Lerer questioned whether Clinton was "trolling us," listing her "corrupt human tornado" insult towards Trump, her unsubstantiated suggestion that the Russians were "grooming" Gabbard as a Russian asset in 2020, and sharing a fake letter mocking Trump's recent, casually worded missive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which neither she nor Lerer credited "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for creating.
"Welcome to Hillary Unplugged," Lerer wrote.
"For most of her public career, Mrs. Clinton has been constrained by the expectations of her position, be it first lady, senator or secretary of state. Now, after her stunning loss in 2016, it seems she finally feels liberated to speak her mind."
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