Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said Monday Republican presidential hopefuls Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio are on the rise because they remind voters of venerated conservative icons.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday, Hewitt told hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough that “Fiorina is going full Thatcher [and] Rubio is going full Reagan.” Hewitt was referring to former President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who’ve often been dubbed “political soulmates.”
“The biggest compliment I could ever do is compare somebody to Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain in 1975,” Scarborough said Monday.
Thatcher became the first woman to lead a major political party in Great Britain after beating four male opponents in a landslide election in 1975.
“[Fiorina’s] terrifying to Democrats,” Brzezinski added. “I don’t think Republicans get her yet, I don’t think men get her. She is terrifying … in a good way.”
While Fiorina resembles the “Iron Lady,” the same can’t be said for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, according to Hewitt.
“Hillary campaigns the way that somebody drives who’s been in 20 accidents,” he added Monday. “She’s very tentative, she’s always afraid she’s going to get t-boned. And it shows up every time she comes out on stage.”
“That’s a perfect way to put it,” Scarborough responded. “We’re in such a hypermedia age and Hillary is the worst performer.”
According to a NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll of New Hampshire voters released Sunday, Fiorina would beat the former secretary of state 50 to 42 percent in general election matchup if the election were held today.
