Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that President Donald Trump is the one practicing “socialism for the rich,” pushing back against Republican attempts to label Democrats as socialists or communists.
Clinton made the comments during an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.” Co-host Joe Scarborough raised the pattern of Republicans using hot-button social issues on ballots over the years, from gay marriage in 2004 to transgender athletes more recently, and now the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA, as a political target.
“Wherever I go, it’s like I hear guys like me saying, ‘Well, yeah. He’s crazy. But look at the other side. They’re communists. They’re socialists.’ Of course they don’t talk about Trump,” Scarborough said.
Clinton responded that Trump himself relies heavily on the same rhetoric. “Every other word out of Trump’s mouth is socialist or communist. So, you know, they’re doing everything they can to throw the mud,” she said.
Scarborough followed up by noting that Trump has been involved in the government taking stakes in more than 30 companies.
“He’s the one, you know, socialism for the rich and socialism for families’ interests,” Clinton said.
Clinton went on to say that while she believes some rhetoric and positions from the far left go too far, she thinks Democrats need to focus on substantive problems facing the country. “We do have a housing crisis. We have a health care crisis,” she said.
She pointed to an event she held with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries roughly two weeks earlier, where she argued that once Democrats retake the House with what she described as a large, diverse caucus, individual members should be free to pursue their own legislative priorities.
“If you want to introduce Medicare for all write the bill. If you want to restore Affordable Care Act subsidies write the bill. Let’s get back to actually doing the work of legislating and making a difference,” Clinton said.
