NEW YORK — On the night before her big rally, Hillary Clinton’s campaign finally admitted it: they know they have a problem with the press.
“About the press, I think we need to demystify the Clinton campaign,” Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmari said while speaking at a campaign discussion hosted by Politico Playbook’s Mike Allen at New York University Friday night.
Campaign manager Robby Mook was also on hand, but much quieter. During the discussion, Mike Allen described Mook as one who “avoids the spotlight” as much as possible.
When Allen asked Palmari and Mook if after Saturday we would see Hillary engaging with the press, they both said “Of course she will,” but implied press interactions would remain limited with the primaries still months away.
Both during her 2008 campaign and the last few months, Clinton has been criticized for evading the press. The campaign gives little information about the candidate’s whereabouts and prefers carefully scripted events.
Palmari expressed frustration that no matter what he campaign does, the press will never feel never satisfied.
“I remember when I started this campaign, [reporters said] ‘Hillary Clinton is not available, every time you see her she’s on a tarmac or getting on a big plane, she’s out on a big stage, she can’t talk to anyone,'” she told a crowd of journalists and progressive activists.
“Now we do small roundtables, one-on-one interactions,” she said, “[reporters say] ‘When is Hillary going to talk to a big crowd, when is she going to get out to the voters?'”
But Palmari says the campaign staff is focused on the long game for now. They emphasized the importance of staying the course during the multi-month campaign, stating that want to be sure that Hillary will have the chance to meet as many voters as possible and that the voters will get to meet her.
When one reporter challenged the campaign on transparency and speaking on the record, the Clinton aides admitted it was a weakness.
“I think people default to on background, off the record, you default to that. And we probably do it too much,” Palmari said. “As I sit here talking to everyone on the record on this stage, I know it’s something we need to get better on.”
