Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren is defending Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from at least one of the criticisms leveled at her in a controversial new tell-all book that paints her as one of the most abrasive and ruthless figures in politics.
In an interview Monday on Fox, the author, ex-Secret Service agent Gary Byrne, said Clinton “gets angry at things that are policy issues that, you know, take time to fix, and she’s got this attitude where she wants things fixed right now, immediately. She screams and yells at people.”
Van Susteren responded on her personal blog the following day and said she could identify with some of those alleged qualities.
“A new book is out about [former] Secretary Clinton written by a former member of the Secret Service,” she said. “I saw this quote … and thought, ‘That sounds like me. I want things fixed immediately.’ Is there something wrong with that? Should we tolerate foot dragging?”
Van Susteren added, “Yeah, I confess, I have been known to yell. Hasn’t everyone?”
Van Susteren does, however, have a history of being more sympathetic to Clinton than some of her colleagues at Fox. She has has admitted personal ties to Clinton in the past.
In an open letter to Clinton last April that floated the possibility of an interview, Van Susteren wrote, “While you already know my husband [John Coale] — he has been friends with your family for years — it is also true that he is friends and a supporter of [Democratic presidential candidate] Gov. O’Malley. But of course, that is my husband and I have interviewed you many, many times and I think you have always thought my interviews of you fair.”
Van Susteren is also a former member of the Clinton Global Initiative, the nonprofit run by Clinton and former president Bill Clinton.
