“Many, many voters are actually looking for someone outside of the political class,” said Republican candidate for president Carly Fiorina on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today. “I’m not a neophyte. I do come to this run with qualifications.”
The former CEO of Hewlett Packard said her lack of political experience should not disqualify her from the race, saying that she’s provided counsel for Homeland Security and State secretaries, and that she’s advised cabinet secretaries and heads of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency.
“It is a leader’s job to challenge the status quo… you make enemies,” said Fiorina, defending the circumstances of her firing from HP. She dismissed the implication that HP’s stock rose after she was fired because she wasn’t a good leader, saying that “every time there is a change in a company, the stock tends to go up.”
“The stock market is not a good arbiter of success over the long term,” said Fiorina. “It is more of a reflection of current emotion and conventional wisdom.”
As the only woman candidate in the GOP race, Fiorina thinks she provides a strong counterweight to Hillary Clinton’s Democratic candidacy.
“Unlike Hillary Clinton, I am not afraid to answer questions about my track record or beliefs,” Fiorina said at the Freedom Summit yesterday.
