Chelsea Clinton held nothing back in attacking President Donald Trump’s character in a recent interview in with a British newspaper. In the interview she accused the president of degrading “what it means to be an American.”
Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, skewered Trump when she was asked by The Guardian. about his plans to visit Great Britain in July. During the interview the 38 year-old philanthropist said, “If I lived in Britain I would show up to protest, because I don’t agree with what he’s doing to degrade what it means to be an American.”
Clinton, 38, also told The Guardian that she credits Trump for influencing her decision to start directly responding to people who say “hateful” things to her. She said that she’s been the target of “vitriol” for as long as she could remember since she was only 12 when her father became president.
“The reason, now, I no longer ignore it when people say hateful things to me on the street or on social media is, I think we have to shine a light,” Clinton said. “I think those of us who have platforms to do that have to say this is wrong and unacceptable, so we don’t normalize it but try to detoxify what has been unleashed. Because if we don’t, we leave a vacuum. And I think the darkness fills that vacuum,” she added.
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Clinton also expressed her opinion that President Trump has had a negative impact on the national dialogue because he continually attacks both her mother and all women, saying:
“I think that the way that our president and many people around him have not only mainstreamed hate, but mainlined it, is so deeply dangerous. I think the wreckage that we’re seeing at this moment is one that will, I hope, be repaired on the policy standpoint when we elect Democrats. But I think we will still then have work to do on repairing the tone in our country, the exposure of the real racist and sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic feeling which is on the rise in our country ― a rot that has been exposed.”
Clinton, the daughter of two graduates of Yale Law School, had some interesting comments about the legalities and the politics surrounding the First Amendment and freedom of speech. She praised the “hugely important” First Amendment, but said “freedom of speech doesn’t mean there should be a freedom from consequences.”
“Sure, you should not be in prison because you said something racist,” Clinton added. “But you also shouldn’t be able to run for president. And yet here we are.”
Clinton’s comments are very perceptive and they do raise some interesting questions about how America could allow a bigot and misogynist to become president. Hopefully Americans have learned their lessons and will make corrections in future elections.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
