ARLINGTON, Va. — The super PAC supporting Carly Fiorina’s bid for president premiered its new documentary on the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, defending her against critics of her business background.
More than 100 supporters, super PAC staffers and journalists packed into the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse Tuesday night to snack on popcorn and candy and see “Citizen Carly” screened for the first time. The 50-minute documentary, narrated by actor James Woods, examines her early career, her battle with breast cancer, her unsuccessful run for the Senate in California, her marriage to Frank Fiorina and the death of her stepdaughter to drug and alcohol addiction.
But perhaps the most important part of the documentary is devoted to her career leading Hewlett-Packard, where she was fired in 2005. Critics of her tenure often point to the company’s 2002 merger with Compaq that led to 30,000 employee layoffs. It is an issue that will raised by her opponents in the presidential race.
The documentary references how her tenure coincided with the popping of the dot-com bubble.
Former HP board member Tom Perkins, who voted to oust Fiorina at the time, says in the documentary that he regrets his decision, defending her tenure in retrospect.
“I went with the majority, I’m now somewhat ashamed to say,” Perkins said.
The film also includes interviews with Fiorina that were taped before she entered the race, in order to comply with laws prohibiting coordination between super PACs and official campaigns.
“These two board members were feeling a lot of pressure, I presume, about their position,” Fiorina said of the movement to oust her. “And so they started a conversation with other board members, and basically, I think in their view, it was either their job or my job.”
A spokeswoman for the CARLY for America super PAC, Katie Hughes, said the organization is screening early state premieres of the documentary in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina in the coming days. They are also organizing house parties across the country for supporters to watch it and, in a few weeks, they will release it online.
While the movie has been in the works for months, it couldn’t be released at a better time for Fiorina. It comes as Fiorina, thanks to strong debate performances, has shot up in the polls.
CARLY for America’s executive director, Steve DeMaura, said they produced the film so potential supporters can learn about the candidate who has never been elected to office before.
“Only a small portion of the country knows who Carly is, and those who know something know very little,” DeMaura said. “This is the true and full story. Not through the lens of liberal reporters, but through the lens of the people who have known her for decades.”