Hillary Clinton may have an aura of inevitability, but one candidate is looking to knock her down from her perch as festivities for 2016 get underway.
During her address to CPAC Thursday afternoon, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina continued taking swipes at the former secretary of state, slamming her credentials as a world traveler during her time at the State Department while hitting her in the wake of reports that her foundation took donations from foreign governments.
“This is not leadership,” Fiorina said of the U.S.’s handling of the Middle East. “Nor is it leadership when Secretary Clinton asks: ‘What difference does it make?’ when our embassy is deliberately attacked by terrorists and four Americans are murdered. It makes all the difference in the world Mrs. Clinton, and the required response has never come.”
“Like Mrs. Clinton, I too have traveled the globe,” Fiorina continued. “Unlike Mrs. Clinton, I know that flying is an activity, not an accomplishment. I have met Vladimir Putin, and I know that his ambition will not be deterred by a gimmicky red reset button.”
“Mrs. Clinton, please name an accomplishment,” Fiorina said. “And in the meantime, please accept and explain why we should accept that the millions and millions of dollars that have flowed into the Clinton Foundation from foreign governments doesn’t represent a conflict of interest.”
“She tweets about women’s rights in this country and takes money from governments that deny women the most basic human rights,” Fiorina said pointedly. “She tweets about equal pay for women but won’t answer basic questions about her own offices’ pay standards — and neither will our president.”
“Hillary may like hashtags,” she added. “But she doesn’t know what leadership means.”
Fiorina has been a harsh critic of the former first lady lately, blasting the presumptive Democratic nominee, as she did Thursday, for touting her record number of miles flown around the globe Tuesday during an event in Atlanta and at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines last month.
“If Hillary Clinton had to face me on a debate stage, at the very least she would have a hitch in her swing,” Fiorina added in the Q&A segment after her CPAC speech.
Most recently, Clinton, as pointed out by TheDC, used one of Fiorina’s primary campaign lines/themes during her address to a women’s conference in Silicon Valley on Tuesday. (RELATED: Is Hillary Clinton Stealing Speech Lines From Carly Fiorina?)
During a Q&A segment, Clinton called on those in attendance to “unlock their full potential,” a line Fiorina uses frequently. Ironically, Fiorina’s Super PAC is called the “Unlocking Potential Project.”
In fact, the mission statement for Fiorina’s PAC states: “Today, America suffers from self-inflicted wounds. Our nation has everything we need to lead, grow and prosper. We must unlock the full potential of every American and unleash the power of this great nation.”
Back in June 2014 during Clinton’s book tour, much was made of the similarities within their memoirs, including title and cover. Clinton’s book is entitled “Hard Choices,” while Fiorina’s 2006 memoir is named “Tough Choices.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that Fiorina will be making an announcement of her 2016 plans in late April or early May, while a Super PAC supporting the former HP CEO, Carly For America, was announced Tuesday night.
