Panelists on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday demanded that Republican presidential candidate explain her joke about Hillary Clinton not wanting to spend time with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, which was one of the most memorable moments from Thursday’s GOP debate.
At the so-called “undercard” debate, with the lower-polling candidates, Fiorina opened the event with a dig at Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “The truth is, I’ve been blessed by a lot of opportunities to do a lot of things in my life, and unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband,” she said.
On “Morning Joe,” journalist Mike Barnicle wanted to unpack that, and said the comment “struck more than several people” as “mean-spirited.” He asked her to reveal “information” she has about the Clinton marriage that would make her say Clinton doesn’t like spending time with her husband.
“I’ve been called all kinds of things on this campaign trail and I’m quite sure people have said things about me that we would consider mean-spirited as well,” Fiorina said. “Look, Bill and Hillary Clinton have craved power their entire lives. Their entire lives have been about amassing power.”
Huffington Post reporter and MSNBC contributor Sam Stein, unsatisifed with the answer, pressed Fiorina on her “very personal critique” of the Clinton’s.
“I just want to know, why did you say that ‘I actually love spending time with my husband’? Why even go to the point that you’re criticizing her marriage?” he said.
“I guess I would say, you know, if my husband had done some of the things Bill Clinton had done, I would have left him long ago,” said Fiorina, referring to former president Bill Clinton’s history of extramarital affairs.
Stein asked why that was a campaign issue at all, and Fiorina replied that when running for president, everything becomes a campaign issue.
