Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trump as the Republican presidential field’s shock jock on Monday but said other candidates’ positions on women’s rights are more offensive.
After a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, the Democratic presidential frontrunner trained most of her fire on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who said during Thursday night’s GOP debate that he opposes abortion in all instances, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who suggested women’s health is overfunded — he later said he “misspoke” — during an attack on Planned Parenthood last week.
“Yes, I know it makes great TV. I think the guy went way overboard — offensive, outrageous, pick your adjective,” Clinton said of Trump. “But what Marco Rubio said has as much of an impact in terms of where the Republican Party is today as anybody on that stage, and it is deeply troubling. And it should be to the press, not just to those of us who have been doing this work for so long.”
It was an effort by Clinton to make the entire Republican field pay for the ascendance of Trump to the top of its presidential primary polls, even as she dismisses the real estate mogul himself.
She said Trump’s attacks on Fox News host Megyn Kelly, both during the debate and on Twitter and in television interviews afterward, were over the top.
Clinton said Kelly — “who is perfectly capable and incredibly impressive” — can defend herself.
But, she said, she worries for women “who may not have the opportunity to defend themselves, who may lose the right to exercise a personal choice if certain of the Republicans were to be successful — I don’t want that forgotten.”
Trump has attacked Clinton in recent days, even bringing up her attendance at his wedding. He said she attended because he was a major donor.
“With Hillary Clinton, I said, ‘Be at my wedding,’ and she came to my wedding. You know why? She had no choice! Because I gave,” Trump said.
Clinton attempted to make clear, though, that she isn’t taking Trump seriously.
“It’s entertainment. It’s all entertainment. I think he’s having the time of his life,” she said of Trump. “Getting up on that stage, you know, being up on that stage, saying whatever he wants to say, getting people excited, both for and against him.”
She even mocked the real estate mogul’s ability to articulate a position on college affordability, which Clinton had addressed with a policy rollout earlier Monday.
“What did Donald Trump have to say about college affordability?” she said. “I would wonder.”
