Clinton voiced support for the trade deal 45 times, but now won't take a clear stance

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

last updated 16 June 2015

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been less than forthcoming with her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, breaking her silence only to back congressional Democrats who opposed fast-tracking the deal through Congress. Clinton's reticence might make sense given the secrecy surrounding the contents of the TPP — except for the fact that, as secretary of state, she spoke approvingly of the deal no less than 45 times.

As CNN Politics documents, these statements ranged from more casual mentions to ringing endorsements, like the time Clinton said the TPP "holds out great economic opportunities to all participating nations;" or the time she declared that work on the deal "binds our countries together, increases stability, and promotes security;" or the time she called the TPP a "cutting-edge, next generation trade deal."

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.