Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, said Tuesday that Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton must work harder than male candidates to overcome media sexism.
“Hillary Clinton has to do A-plus work to get a C,” he said. “And you know why? I think because she’s a woman, I still think that’s a tough thing in this country and it’s something male candidates don’t have to overcome,” he added.
He blamed the media in part for creating high hurdles for her to jump over than for men.
AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka recently met with Vice President Joe Biden. AP Photo
“I think that over her career, she has done extraordinary things. And they get minimized and I think they get minimized in many cases simply because she is a woman. I really believe that she has to do A-plus work in order for most of the pundits, particularly on the right side, to give her a passing grade. I don’t think that they are anywhere near as hard on males,” he said.
The labor boss added that when it comes to evaluating Clinton’s career, “a different standard was applied to her.”
During a pre-Labor Day media breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Trumka had some praise for Clinton, but stopped far short of an endorsement and even suggested that she has failed to energize workers.
“I think she’s an experienced good person. I think she would make a great president. I think she has to really figure out a way to energize workers. And that’s come up with a narrative that one, she believes in, and two, is willing to fight for. Because that is the litmus test that workers look for.”
He said that challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders and Vice President Joe Biden have a connection to workers and the middle class, but Clinton has more work to do in that area.
If she eventually does articulate pro-worker stands, he added, “She can catch fire too.”
Trumka recently met with Biden, who is mulling a Clinton challenge. Trumka called Biden a “friend” of labor, but said he didn’t know what the vice president will decide.
“Joe Biden’s a good friend, a champion of working people,” said Trumka. “He would be a good candidate. He would be a good president.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
