Hillary Clinton Says She Doesn’t Think Her Future Includes ‘Running for Office Again’
Hillary Clinton, appearing at what was billed as her first post-election interview, said that she is focused on “doing interesting things” but doesn’t think “that will include running for office again.”
Clinton appeared on stage at the Women in the World Conference in New York on Thursday for a Q&A with the New York Times’ Nick Kristof.
Kristof had asked her about her future plans, even mentioning the possibility of running for mayor of New York. Although Clinton said that she had no plans to seek elective office, it will hardly tamp speculation that she may consider something down the road.
The wide-ranging interview covered the crisis in Syria, Russian intervention in the 2016 election, and her opinion of President Trump’s initial weeks in office.
“As a person, I’m okay,” Clinton said, describing her surprise election loss. “As an American, I’m pretty worried. There’s a lot to be concerned about.”
She said that she supports an independent investigation of Russian hacking into the election, including potential collusion by members of the Trump campaign. She said that Republicans should also be concerned of what Russia did.
“It was a theft,” she said of the hacking, adding that it was a “more effective theft than even Watergate back in the day.”
She said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “not exactly fond of strong women, although he did shake hands with me.” She said that he wants to “sow distrust and confusion” by influencing the election.
But she also cited other reasons for her loss, including FBI Director James Comey’s decision to restart the investigation into her private email server after the discovery of more emails. Two days before the election, Comey announced that the investigation turned up no new information, but Clinton’s campaign team has since argued that by then, the damage had been done.
Clinton also reflected on the way that she has been attacked from the right, saying that after serving as secretary of state and seeking office again, she was a target.
“By the time they finished with me, I was Typhoid Mary, and poor Mary, she didn’t deserve it either,” she said.
She did say that she thinks misogyny played a role in the campaign, but also talked of the need to “toughen up your skin” and “take criticism seriously, not personally.”
Although Clinton did not say exactly what her plans were, she did say that she wants to focus on children and the rights and opportunities for women and girls, as well as helping Democrats win back a congressional majority.
She also admitted that it was “somewhat gratifying” to watch as a Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare failed even before it came to a vote. When she was first lady, Clinton was responsible for the administration’s health care reform proposal, which also stalled out in Congress.
Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
