Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:45 pm
Many liberals are angry about Tuesday’s big news that Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton will be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Count me among them.
After all, many of us are still disturbed not only by Trump’s unexpected electoral victory in November but by how he was able to win – on a platform of bigotry, with big assists from the FBI and Russia. His cabinet picks and overall behavior since then has done nothing to quell those concerns.
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But the former Secretary of State’s decision to attend Trump’s swearing-in shows incredible class. That’s something we should appreciate in a prominent political figure as we enter an era in which the man in charge is a guy who throws Twitter tantrums over a poor restaurant review.
Can you imagine how the president-elect would’ve behaved if Clinton won the election? Let’s at least take solace in the fact that Clinton isn’t stooping to the level he surely would have.
We are all rightfully fearful of any move by Democrats to even marginally legitimize someone like Trump, who continues to show he is unfit to serve the office he’s about to take. But Clinton opting to attend the event isn’t about who Trump is; it’s about who she is.
For decades, Clinton has endured unprecedented and baseless attacks on her character. She has faced standards from her opponents and the media that her male counterparts (and opponents) never had to face – about her outfits, her hair, her health, and even the way she speaks. She has bounced back from all kinds of defeats throughout her long career in public service – always with class and a resolve to fight harder next time.
That’s who Hillary Clinton has always been, and her decision to be in the nation’s capital on Jan. 20 – as frustrating as it may be – shows that it’s who she still is, even after a divisive and depressing election season.
While the incoming president tweets about putting America first, Clinton is actually showing what it means to put the country above herself and her politics.
Disappointed liberals should at least give her credit for that.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
