A reporter asked Hillary Clinton if she’s the victim of a double standard in the election due to her gender.
During a surprise press conference on Thursday, a day after Clinton and Donald Trump participated in a veterans forum, a reporter asked the Democratic nominee to respond to a comment from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
“You’ve been criticized by the RNC for your demeanor last night, that you were too serious, that you didn’t smile enough,” the reporter said. “Can you react to that? And also, you suggested that there is a double standard. Do you think that you’re treated differently in this race because you’re a woman?”
Clinton responded that she would let journalists “ponder” the question, adding, “I don’t take my advice and I don’t take anything seriously that comes from the RNC.”
It was during the forum that Priebus wrote on Twitter that Clinton looked “angry and defensive” and had “no smile” because she was “upset that she was caught wrongly sending our secrets.”
Another reporter followed up by asking Clinton what any “double standard” would mean for the debates with Trump.
“That’s a very fair question,” Clinton said. “I have been somewhat heartened by the number of articles recently pointing out the quite disparate treatment of Trump and his campaign compared to ours. I don’t understand the reasons for it. I find it frustrating but it’s just part of the landscape that we live in and we keep forging ahead.”
Media critics have called for more aggressive coverage of Trump, whose unpredictability and often-shifting policy positions have left many in the media confounded.
But while Trump has rarely shied away from facing the news media, critics have hit Clinton for rarely holding press conferences.
