Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee praised former interim Democratic National Committee head Donna Brazile for “revealing the truth” about Hillary Clinton campaign’s “unethical influencing of the Democratic National Committee’s role in the 2016 primary process.”
Chafee briefly ran a long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, dropping out in October 2015. His statement, published by the Real News Network in an article this week, echoes a complaint Brazile made about how the Clinton team struck a deal with the DNC which she said looked like an “unethical” takeover.
“I applaud Donna Brazile for revealing the truth about the Clinton campaign’s unethical influencing of the Democratic National Committee’s role in the 2016 primary process,” Chafee said. “From my experience as a participant in that process the same unethical collusion occurred with the mainstream media. CNN was rightfully labeled ‘Clinton News Network.’ The tragedy is that this unethical behavior resulted in a Democratic Party candidate who lost to a seemingly unelectable man.”
The “Clinton News Network” is a name President Trump, the so-called “seemingly unelectable man,” and other critics used to mock the news network for alleged bias. Trump has also called CNN, among other outlets, “fake news.”
Chafee is considering another run for governor in his home state of Rhode Island in 2018, but has not committed to it yet. “I have to think about all that,” he said about participating in a possibly contentious Democratic primary during an interview Monday on “The Tara Granahan Show” on WPRO-AM.
Chafee served as the governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He previously served as a Republican U.S. senator from Rhode Island until 2007. He was elected as governor as an independent before switching to the Democratic Party in 2013.
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to correct Chafee’s party history.
