Hillary Clinton opened up about what it was like to attend Trump’s inauguration
After the election, Hillary Clinton (understandably) took some time away from the spotlight. She was seen hiking in the woods near her home in Chappaqua, New York from time to time, but otherwise she laid low in the aftermath of the election. Now she’s back, delivering a stirring commencement speech at Wellesley and speaking for the first time about life in the post-election world. In an interview with New York Magazine, Clinton spoke about attending Trump’s inauguration, and we totally feel her.
According to the former presidential candidate, the days and weeks following the election left her on auto-pilot. She was simply trying to fulfill her obligations and accomplish the tasks at hand, to get through what was undoubtedly an incredibly hard time in her life. And Clinton was still very much in that mode during the inauguration.
A post shared by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 9, 2016 at 11:03am PST
In the NY Mag interview, she admits that perhaps the hardest part was sitting through Trump’s speech, and realizing that he would keep to the plans he had laid out on the campaign trail.
“It was a really painful cry to his hard-core supporters that he wasn’t changing,” she said. “The ‘carnage’ in our country? It was a very disturbing moment. I caught Michelle Obama’s eye, like, ‘What is going on here?’ I was sitting next to George and Laura Bush, and we have our political differences, but this was beyond any experience any of us had ever had.”
Perhaps it was in part the experience of sitting through the inauguration that inspired Hillary Clinton to begin her Onward Together initiative. The organization is devoted to supporting progressive causes, and intends to be a force for positive change in the face of the current political climate.
We’re so happy to see Hillz persevering and moving forward, despite her loss and the discomfort she felt on Inauguration Day. We can’t wait to see what she gets up to next!
