Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said Monday that Hillary Clinton’s State Department tenure “demonstrably” lacks accomplishment and has some “real blemishes” checkering it.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Fiorina told host Mika Brzezinski that Clinton needs to be “able to talk beyond gender.”
Fiorina, who will likely launch a bid for the 2016 GOP nomination within the next month, made the comments after saying Sunday that Clinton is “not the woman for the White House.”
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I’ve been reading your comments about Hillary Clinton and you say she does not have a track record of accomplishments. Why do you say that?
CARLY FIORINA: Because she really doesn’t. She’s had a lot of very impressive titles, but a position is just a position. It’s all about what you do in it, and I think her time in the position of secretary of state is demonstrably one that lacks accomplishment, but that also has some real blemishes on it. It’s a problem when you mislead the American people for a month about what really happened in Benghazi. It’s a problem when you believe that Vladimir Putin can be thwarted by a red reset button. … I’ve sat across the table from him. There’s no way a red reset button will work. It’s a problem when our relationship with Israel has deteriorated so dramatically, and it’s a problem when terrorism is on the rise, not on the wane, as she and the president continue on try and convince the American people.
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BRZEZINSKI: I think there’s some incredible things that you have done for women. I agree. You’ve been on the show talking about that. Do you think Hillary Clinton has opened doors for women?
FIORINA: Of course Hillary Clinton has opened doors for women, and of course she is a highly intelligent, hardworking woman who has dedicated her life to public service, and that is a tribute to her. She has been an example and an inspiration for many women. And just the fact that she’s running for president is inspiring to many women. I take none of that away from her.
But if we are going to have a real conversation about tapping the potential of men and women, then we also have to be able to talk beyond gender and talk actually about track record and accomplishment and policies, and I think that’s the ground upon which this debate needs to be waged. What are your policies? What’s your track record, and what are your accomplishments?