Aug 21st, 2019
At the Washington Post’s “2020 Candidate Forum,” Democratic presidential hopeful and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made a plethora of shortsighted comments, making it obvious she has no idea what she’s talking about.
Gillibrand began her conversation touching on subjects she’s well-versed in, such as women’s rights and paid time off work for new parents. When asked about every other subject, however, Gillibrand failed to show an understanding of the pressing issues facing the United States.
Here are some of the most reality-detached quotes from her conversation with Washington Post reporter Robert Costa.
Costa asked Gillibrand if she thought Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., should begin impeachment proceedings for President Trump. Gillibrand responded yes.
“The Mueller report is detailed. It has multiple, serious factual analyses of obstruction of justice,” Gillibrand said. “Robert Mueller said to us, if he could have exonerated the president he would have.”
In the first part of her response, Gillibrand claimed the Trump campaign obstructed justice. However, in the second part of her statement, she said Mueller told Congress if he could acquit Trump of these charges he would.
Gillibrand was clearly trying to use “exonerate” and such political jargon to demonstrate her knowledge on the subject. But her misuse of the word was embarrassing.
Gillibrand spent a large chunk of time detailing how she’s at the forefront of leftist issues but also that she can win red and purple areas and be a moderate leftist.
She also said that if elected, she would be able to pass a bipartisan Green New Deal. “I actually know how to pass a Green New Deal,” Gillibrand said. “I know all of the parts of it that are already bipartisan, that I’ve been working on for a decade.”
The Green New Deal is a socialist proposal, created in 2019, that focuses on the complete government overhaul of the U.S. economic system in the name of preventing a supposed environmental apocalypse. It is highly unlikely that Republicans will vote for a radical socialist overhaul to address climate change and to restructure the U.S. economic system. Gillibrand is flat-out wrong about the possibility of bipartisanship.
After touting her bipartisan agenda for the first 20 minutes of the conversation, Gillibrand admitted she doesn’t talk to her uncle who voted for Trump.
“I have not spoken to him about it. So, I cannot tell you why, I’m still angry,” Gillibrand said. “And I didn’t find out from him, by the way, I found out from my cousin. Because she was at an event with me, and she was like, ‘Well, you know, I’m talking to my Dad about it,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ And she tells me this, and I’m like, ‘That can’t be true. They knew how much I loved Hillary. That can’t be true.'”
This proved Gillibrand’s “I’m bipartisan” speech is simply an act, especially if she can’t have a conversation with her uncle about Trump solely because of their differing political views.
“I think NRA members want to ban military assault weapons and large magazines,” Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand is way off base. According to a Pew Research poll, 52 percent of NRA members support background checks for private sales. However, only 28 percent want to ban “assault-style” weapons and 23 percent want to ban high-capacity magazines.
To say that NRA members want to more restrictions of their Second Amendment rights is inaccurate.
Costa asked Gillibrand what she thought about pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Gillibrand said she wishes Trump would use leverage against China’s President Xi Jinping.
“America used to be this beacon of light and hope,” Gillibrand said.
Yet Hong Kong protesters are begging for a democracy like America’s. To them, this country remains a beacon of light and hope, an inspiration in their own quest for self-determination. During their protests, they waved American flags and sang the American national anthem, reaffirming their pro-democracy agenda and America’s positive influence.
It is no secret that Gillibrand’s role model is Hillary Clinton — a sure reason Gillibrand is polling at 0.7 percent. Nonetheless, while her support for Hillary Clinton is no surprise, her support for Bill Clinton is.
Gillibrand was outspoken in condemning and calling for the resignation of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., in 2018. He was accused of forcible kissing and unwanted groping. Yet Bill Clinton was accused of similar allegations, and still Gillibrand supports him?
“I value the Clintons and what they have done for this country in terms of decades of service to our country,” Gillibrand said.
Costa seemed surprised. He asked, “Even President Clinton?”
“Same, he has given himself and has provided leadership and decades of leadership to this country,” Gillibrand said.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is easily one of the most hated politicians in America. He has a horrible track record of corruption charges, and his administration appears to exhibit ethical issue after ethical issue. Yet Gillibrand supports him.
“Mayor de Blasio has also done extraordinary things for our country. Especially for New York City,” Gillibrand said. “I’m grateful for his service to our state and our city.”
With all these ridiculous statements, it is no wonder Gillibrand most likely will not be on the Houston debate stage in September. To appear there, candidates must have at least 130,000 unique donors from a minimum of 20 different states. They also must average 2 percent support in four qualifying national polls.
Gillibrand is at 110,000 donors and has only qualified in one of the four national polls. The deadline for qualification is Aug. 28. It seems Gillibrand’s presidential candidacy may be over before the end of the month.