What Hillary said to trigger Dem focus group to ‘one of worst responses ever seen, and not just in this election’

The moment Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton cracked under the pressure of a simple question may come back to haunt her, according to a CBS News focus group.

And Democrats reacted more negatively than did Republicans in the group.

In a February interview, CBS News’ Scott Pelly asked the former secretary of state if she always told the truth.

Clinton appeared uncomfortable when she answered, “I’ve always tried to. Always. Always.”

Tried to?

When pollster Frank Luntz showed members of the CBS News focus group a clip of that exchange, Democrats — represented by the green line — reacted more strongly than did GOP voters — represented by the red line.

Source: Screenshot
Source: Screenshot

“Her response convinced nobody,”Luntz said. “That was one of the worst responses on the campaign trail I have ever seen, and not just in this election.”

Even Pelly was taken aback by Clinton’s answer, and said, “Some people are going to call that ‘wiggle room’ that you just gave yourself.”

Luntz said the more Clinton tried to wiggle, the deeper the hole she dug for herself.

“You don’t try to tell the truth — either you do or you don’t,” Luntz said. “The more that she said, the lower the line went, not just for Republicans but for Democrats as well.”

Clinton has been fighting her high negativity ratings, based on the public perception that she’s dishonest, throughout her campaign.

“It’s an issue of integrity,” Luntz said. “And that response indicates that she doesn’t have the integrity, which is one of the reasons why her negatives are higher than her positives.”

The pollster also played a clip of Clinton saying she was under sniper fire when she visited Bosnia as first lady. That claim was refuted by video evidence presented by then-CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson.

“There’s a simple rule in politics, which is … don’t exaggerate, and assume that the reporter who’s covering you has been covering you for months or years and was actually there to see it,” Luntz said. “I think that if Hillary Clinton loses, she will lose because of the issue of integrity — the perception that she is dishonest.”

Sign up for our morning blast HERE

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles