MANCHESTER, N.H. — Hillary Clinton brought out the big guns to join her on the trail as she bit back at Bernie Sanders on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.
Clinton is campaigning with her family, husband and former President Bill Clinton and her daughter Chelsea. She is also joined by New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
The rush in New Hampshire comes as Clinton trails Sanders by a large margin.
“We want someone who knows who the dictator of North Korea is!” Shaheen told supporters, explaining that this election was all about national security, which Clinton’s campaign believes is her strong suit and one of Sanders’ weak points.
“We can’t get in a place where we’re so mad, we demonize everyone against us. Where we portray everyone on the other side from us, including Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign, as part of some mythical establishment,” Bill Clinton said during his portion, voicing frustration about the Sanders campaign, which has garnered a lot of support from being “anti-establishment.”
Clinton’s surrogates, however, have not always proved helpful in their remarks.
For example, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s comment that “there is a special place in hell” for women who don’t support Clinton earned criticism on both sides of the aisle.
Rather than picking up these lines of criticism, Clinton praised Sanders supporters for becoming engaged in the political process, saying “to all the young people who are supporting my opponent, I thank you too.”
She added, “For all of you who are still deciding, still shopping, I hope I can close the deal.”
But, Clinton’s efforts may be too little, too late in the Granite State.
Sisters Karen Romanagna and Mary Clare Heffernan came in to rally, unsure if they would support Clinton or Sanders. Heffernan, a Manchester resident, said that she thought Clinton was too much “about the past,” whereas Sanders represented the future. Catching up with the pair after the rally it seemed their minds were made up.
“She was too scripted,” Heffernan said. “It’s like she’s already been president already. We don’t need to go backwards.”
