Clinton Copies Trump With Phone

Calling into cable news to push agenda.

5.30.2016

Is Hillary Clinton starting to copy Donald Trump? It would seem so to some, including Washington Post political blog The Fix. The political website noted that Clinton used a pair of phone interviews to push her agenda this week.

Clinton rarely calls in. In fact, she does far fewer TV interviews than Trump, period. But she did two TV interviews by phone in a single afternoon on Thursday, suggesting she might try to beat Trump at his own game — or, at least, not be left on the sidelines.

It's too early to call this a trend, of course, and the Clinton campaign did not respond to a Fix inquiry about whether the candidate plans to make these appearances a regular thing. We'll just have to watch and see.

But it would make a lot of sense. As noted, Trump does many more interviews than Clinton, helping to make him more visible to voters. A presidential candidate is never far from a camera, but there are surely times when the most convenient thing is to simply pick up the phone and call in to make a point.

So as cable news focused on the Inspector General's report into her email scandal, Hillary was quick to pick up the phone, something she has been loathe to do in the past. CNN's Chris Cuomo may not be a fan of the phone interview on TV but will conduct them noting that it does give politicians a distinct advantage, including removing the issues of body language and visuals cues from which the audience can assess a candidate.