Though some in media have responded the Nevada Democratic caucus this weekend by suggesting Hillary Clinton’s bid for the party’s nomination is once again “inevitable,” ABC News reminded everyone Monday morning that voters still don’t trust her.
“[D]espite that big Vegas-style win, Clinton [conceded] overnight, she has a big problem to overcome — trust,” said ABC’s Cecilia Vega.
Since launching her campaign in April of last year, Clinton has consistently polled poorly on the issue of trust, according to multiple public surveys showing voters don’t exactly believe her when it comes to telling the truth.
Verga’s remarks come after Clinton bested Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the Nevada Democratic caucus Saturday, capturing six counties and tying two. Sanders won eight counties, but Clinton leaves the state with more delegates.
Following her decisive victory in the Battle Born state, some media pundits were quick to suggest that Clinton’s nomination once again looked “inevitable.”
“This win is hugely important to her because she can now run the score. Now Sanders still has to go win some place with a diverse electorate in a primary situation to sort of puncture this air of inevitability, which is now back with Hillary Clinton,” said MSNBC’s Chuck Todd.
“This is a big turning point,” he added. “You can call it a sigh of relief, whatever you want to call it. This is a big deal, her narrowly eking out a win, no matter the size.”
Bloomberg News reported elsewhere that the Democratic front-runner’s success in Nevada “clearly shifts the burden for the next win from Clinton to Sanders, now forcing him to prove he has staying power in more ethnically and geographically diverse states.”
But ABC News maintained Monday morning that the former secretary isn’t out of the woods yet, and reported that along with a legitimate primary challenge, the Democratic front-runner still has a trust problem.
“Bernie Sanders [is] still vowing to stay in the race,” Vega said. “This fight is going to get more heated, especially as the two sides go after African-American voters in South Carolina … Clinton sources tell me we’ll hear her go strong on Sanders’ record on guns.”
Clinton’s war with Sanders also comes as she also continues to try to convince voters that she is indeed worthy of their trust.
The former secretary of state struggled last week when she told CBS News’ Scott Pelley that she has “always tried” to tell the truth.
The CBS reporter remarked on her use of “always tried” that “some people are going to call that wiggle room that you just gave yourself. ‘Always tried to.’ Jimmy Carter said, ‘I will never lie to you.'”
“No, I’ve always tried to,” she responded. “You know, you’re asking me to say have I ever. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever have. I don’t believe I ever will. I’m going to do the best I can to level with the American people.”
(h/t WFB)
