Did Hillary Clinton break the law during her infamous subway ride?
On Thursday morning, Hillary Clinton rode New York City's 4 Train from Yankee Stadium to 170th Street, eliciting jokes and Michele Bachmann tutorials after failing to swipe through the turnstile with the grace of a seasoned city-dweller. However, some are now pointing fingers at Clinton for allegedly getting away with breaking a law — because in New York, it is technically illegal to campaign on the subway.
It is up for debate if Clinton was actually "campaigning" — but Ali Gharib at The Guardian argues that by "glad-handing on the train itself," Clinton's short ride was "all the more galling because there are actual, regular New Yorkers trying to make ends meet who are arrested for violating the same rules that Clinton disregards with impunity."
"When performers are playing music they are thought to be committing a crime and arrested, and apparently when Hillary Clinton does public speaking on a train car that is not considered a violation of the statute," Matthew Christian of BuskNY told The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, some think that getting fired up about Clinton's ride is just looking for something to be angry about. "I've ridden the subway in NYC for almost 30 years. I have never, not once, seen a fine handed out for any type of performance. And I have probably seen hundreds," one Reddit user pointed out.
Watch Clinton's subterranean New York adventure below. Jeva Lange
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Ukraine hints at end to 'hot war' with Russia in 2025
Talking Points Could the new year see an end to the worst European violence of the 21st Century?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What does the FDIC do?
In the Spotlight Deposit insurance builds confidence in the banking system
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
2024: The year of conspiracy theories
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published