The life and career of Hillary Clinton – along with her ill-fated attempt to win the presidency in 2016 – is the subject of a new four-part documentary series that is getting rave reviews in the US.
Hillary, which airs on new channel Sky Documentaries in the UK this spring, reportedly gives a “more multi-faceted look at the polarising political figure than most have seen from decades of headlines”, says Parade, which adds that the show “doesn’t shy away from much of the controversy surrounding the former Secretary of State”.
Most notably, it offers a glimpse into the misogyny and sexism which came to define much of her campaign to win the White House against Donald Trump. The New York Times says that “in the wake of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s exit from the presidential race – the last of several smart, qualified Democratic women with any reasonable chance of clinching the 2020 nomination – Hillary feels both raw and resonant.
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“It’s an unusually authentic portrayal of someone so often accused of being inauthentic,” the paper adds.
As one of US politics’ most controversial – and frequently vilified – figures, Clinton continues to make headlines despite her chances of becoming the first female president having long since passed. Here’s a look at what she’s doing now.
Launching a new political movement
One of Clinton’s first moves after her historic defeat in 2016 was to create Onward Together, a grass-roots Democrat movement dedicated to “advancing the vision that earned nearly 66 million votes in the last election”.
Announcing the launch of the organisation in May 2017, she said that citizen engagement in democracy is now more vital “than ever”, a sentiment embodied in Onward Together’s motto: “Resist, insist, persist, enlist”.
“In recent months, we’ve seen what’s possible when people come together to resist bullying, hate, falsehoods, and divisiveness, and stand up for a fairer, more inclusive America,” she wrote in a mission statement that urges everyday Americans to “get involved, organise, and even run for office”, The Telegraph reports.
Publishing a book
Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, released The Book of Gutsy Women in October 2019.
“It’s full of the stories of courageous and resilient women who had faith that their actions could make a difference – and they were right,” Hillary wrote in an Instagram post.
The book received positive reviews from critics, with i news declaring it “possibly a first: a cultural artefact inspired by a mother and a daughter which is neither cringeworthily sentimental nor frighteningly bitchy”.
Starting a podcast
Clinton is planning to launch a new podcast, “just in time for her to have a powerful new megaphone during the 2020 election”, Politico says.
The as yet unnamed show will be co-produced by iHeartMedia, and will “feature her in conversation with a brand-name guest, who might be drawn from world leaders and politicians, of course, but also celebrities, authors and perhaps famous chefs”, the site adds.
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Criticising Bernie Sanders
Prior to her shock defeat to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, Clinton’s campaign to try to secure the Democratic Party nomination had seen her relationship with rival candidate Bernie Sanders devolve into an ugly mess, characterised by name-calling, bitterness and allegations of sexism.
And this week, with Sanders once again in the final rounds of the Democratic primaries – this time against Joe Biden – Clinton spoke out against the progressive Vermont senator.
She said this week that Sanders would not be “our strongest nominee against Donald Trump”, and although she stated this comment was not an endorsement of Biden’s campaign, she added: “I think what Joe’s victories on Super Tuesday showed is that he is building the kind of coalition that I had basically.”
Clinton also said she hoped that if Sanders doesn’t get the nomination that he and his supporters would back Biden – something she accuses them of not doing in 2016.
“I hope so because his failure and the behaviour of a lot of his top aides, and certainly many of his supporters – up to the convention, at the convention, and even up to Election Day – was not helpful,” she said.
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