Hillary Clinton pushes Kamala Harris for president in NY Times: 'The time for hand-wringing is over'
Clinton famously ran against Trump for president in 2016 and lost
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Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made the case for a Kamala Harris presidency in a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday.
"Elections are about the future. That’s why I am excited about Vice President Kamala Harris. She represents a fresh start for American politics. She can offer a hopeful, unifying vision. She is talented, experienced and ready to be president. And I know she can defeat Donald Trump," Clinton wrote.
She made the case that Harris as a "savvy former prosecutor and successful vice president" could be the perfect contrast to the former Republican president, though warned from personal experience that the vice president would face sexist attacks.
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"Ms. Harris’s record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces. She and the campaign will have to cut through the noise, and all of us as voters must be thoughtful about what we read, believe and share," Clinton wrote.
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She continued, "I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics. I’ve been called a witch, a ‘nasty woman’ and much worse. I was even burned in effigy. As a candidate, I sometimes shied away from talking about making history. I wasn’t sure voters were ready for that."
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Clinton ran for president in 2016 as the Democratic candidate against Trump and lost, although she reminded readers that she got three million more total votes.
She warned Harris would "face unique additional challenges as the first Black and South Asian woman," but said progress is possible, citing Obama's election as the first Black president and her receiving three million more total votes than Trump, despite the presidency going to the Electoral College winner.
"Ms. Harris is chronically underestimated, as are so many women in politics, but she is well prepared for this moment," Clinton wrote.
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She also praised Biden for his decision to leave the race, calling it "as pure an act of patriotism" as she had ever seen.
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"Mr. Biden has done a hard and rare thing. Serving as president was a lifelong dream. And when he finally got there, he was exceptionally good at it. To give that up, to accept that finishing the job meant passing the baton, took real moral clarity. The country mattered more. As one who shared that dream and has had to make peace with letting it go, I know this wasn’t easy. But it was the right thing to do," Clinton wrote.
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She concluded the piece by writing, "The time for hand-wringing is over. Now it’s time to organize, mobilize and win."
Clinton, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, previously endorsed Harris in a joint statement released shortly after Biden’s announcement.
"We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country," they said in their joint statement. "We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her."
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"We’ve lived through many ups and downs, but nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term. He has promised to be a dictator on day one, and the recent ruling by his servile Supreme Court will only embolden him to further shred the Constitution. Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it," the statement continued.