WATCH: Carly Fiorina said she had ‘great admiration’ for Hillary Clinton
Carly Fiorina sprinted into second place in the most recent poll, following another well-regarded performance in the CNN debate last Wednesday. Now, she is coming under scrutiny for her history of comments—and issue positions—many Christian conservative voters are unlikely to support.
Most recently, video has surfaced that shows Fiorina praising Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
“I have such great admiration and empathy for Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina said in the 2008 video endorsing John McCain. “I have great admiration for her, because I know what it takes—in some small measure—to do what she has done.”
“She is obviously incredibly intelligent, focused, tough, determined, empathetic of all the tens of millions of people that she was trying to represent in her quest to become the first woman president of the United States.”
“As a woman, I take great pride in the fact that Hillary Clinton ran for president,” she said. “And I also watched with a lot of empathy as I saw how she was scrutinized, characterized, talked about as a woman.”
The video came out in 2008, as John McCain tried desperately—and futilely—to win over Hillary Clinton’s supporters, who were disillusioned after a bruising primary against Barack Obama. He selected Sarah Palin as his vice president and hoped to attract “the women’s vote.”
The video contrasts with Fiorina’s more recent attacks against the former Secretary of State, whom she has accused of “lying” in numerous contexts.
At another event in 2008, Fiorina said of Hillary, “She was a great candidate. She has helped millions of women all over this country. Women of any political party owe a debt of gratitude to Hillary Clinton and I will bet that every woman up here agrees with me.”
The comments mark the second time opponents of Fiorina have accused her of hypocrisy. One of her most effective moments in the debate came when she responded to comments Donald Trump made about her appearance.
However, video has surfaced of Fiorina making fun of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s hair during Fiorina’s only run at office—an unsuccessful bid to unseat the three-term senator from California.
