Books

Hillary Clinton Claps Back At Joe Biden's Criticism In New Memoir

by K.W. Colyard
Monica Schipper/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton's post-campaign memoir, What Happened, wrestles with the question we've all been asking ourselves since Nov. 9, 2016: How on Earth did Donald Trump end up in the White House? On her journey toward an answer, Hillary Clinton puts Joe Biden on blast in her new memoir, and for a very specific reason.

In the wake of the 2016 general election, it seems as though everyone has a theory as to when, where, and why the Democratic Party lost the election. Some say it was when they failed to nominate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), others believe Clinton had it in the bag until former F.B.I. Director James Comey's letter about emails found during an investigation of Anthony Weiner, husband to Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

But for many, Clinton's loss boils down to the idea that she — and, by extension, the Democratic Party — failed to connect with the American people in general, and the "white working-class" in particular. (It's almost laughable, in my opinion, to suggest that someone who won the popular vote didn't reach people, but what do I know?)

In What Happened, Clinton puts Joe Biden on blast for suggesting exactly this, especially in light of the fact that the former Vice President played an integral role in creating and executing her campaign's Midwestern strategy. From the book, according to an early copy obtained by CNN:

Joe Biden said the Democratic Party in 2016 "did not talk about what it always stood for — and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class" . . . I find this fairly remarkable, considering that Joe himself campaigned for me all over the Midwest and talked plenty about the middle class.

Somebody get Joe some water for that burn.

Hillary Clinton's memoir, What Happened, hits bookstores Sept. 12.