Bill Clinton's former lead pollster, Stanley Greenberg, published a blistering dissection of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign on Friday in which he skewers her "malpractice and arrogance" for contributing "mightily to the election of Donald Trump and its profound threat to our democracy."
Greenberg acknowledges criticism of Clinton's "handling of the email server, paid Wall Street speeches, and [her] 'deplorables' comment," but in his takedown he offers up his own opinion on what happened:
The Trump presidency concentrates the mind on the malpractice that helped put him in office. For me, the most glaring examples include the Clinton campaign's over-dependence on technical analytics; its failure to run campaigns to win the battleground states; the decision to focus on the rainbow base and identity politics at the expense of the working class; and the failure to address the candidate's growing 'trust problem,' to learn from events and reposition. [Greenberg Research]
Greenberg, who also contributed periodic counsel to the campaign, details the decision making processes of Clinton's top aides and his shock that "the 2016 Clinton campaign conducted no state polls in the final three weeks of the general election." Greenberg additionally expresses frustration that "the fatal conclusion the Clinton team made after the Michigan primary debacle was that she could not win white working-class voters, and that the 'rising electorate' would make up the difference."
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.
"Had Hillary Clinton won the presidency, the debate around these stark questions would probably have been put off," Greenberg concludes, "but they can't be put off now." Read his full report here.
-
How the War Department became the Department of Defense – and back againIn Depth In 1947 President Harry Truman restructured the US military establishment, breaking with naming tradition
-
Codeword: December 8, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Sudoku hard: December 8, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
