PBS Fetes Hillary, Both Endorse Biden’s Bashing of MAGA GOP as ‘Semi-Fascist’

PBS NewsHour

10/3/23

7:15:50 p.m. (ET)

Geoff Bennett: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is once again Professor Hillary Clinton, as a professor of practice at Columbia University’s newly launched Institute of Global Politics.

She’s teaching alongside the dean, who said their focus is inspiring future foreign policy leaders and thinkers to collaborate around solving the world’s most pressing problems.

Keren Yarhi-Milo, Columbia University: What we want to see is a next generation of leaders that they know, they understand how to lead in a polarized society, because they will feel that they got the skills here to learn to disagree with one another respectfully, to persuade, to build consensus, to hear different views, to really listen, to question their own assumptions.

That’s what leadership will look like in the future.

Geoff Bennett: I spoke with Secretary Clinton in an exclusive interview this morning about her new role that bridges the worlds of academia and public service.

Well, Secretary Clinton, thank you so much for making time for us. We appreciate it.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State: Thank you, Geoff. Good to talk to you.

Geoff Bennett: It was the 1970s when you were last a professor at the University of Arkansas Law School. What’s it like to be back in the classroom? And what was the intention behind taking on this new role?

Hillary Rodham Clinton: First of all, it’s incredibly exciting. And I was offered this opportunity to be a professor here at Columbia University.

And I was very intrigued, because, having been in the Senate, having been secretary of state, having literally traveled millions of miles, I wanted to know what was on young people’s minds and what they were thinking about the world.

I also wanted to find out if there were more effective ways in talking about the challenges that we confront, whether it’s the war in Ukraine or climate change, whatever it might be. And I thought, there couldn’t be a better way than to stand up in front of 375 young people every week with my co-teacher, the dean of the school, Keren Yarhi-Milo, to really figure out what kids are thinking, what young people worry about.

It helps me understand sort of how young people are thinking about these issues, because I will tell you, Geoff, before I started teaching, I kept hearing, like, they didn’t want to talk about difficult subjects. They wanted trigger warnings.

Geoff Bennett: Mm-hmm.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: I haven’t seen any of that.

This has been a very thoughtful and, for me, enriching experience.

Geoff Bennett: Your course is focused on foreign policy and decision-making. And when you were secretary of state, you focused a lot on Asia and the growing threat that China presented.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Yes.

Geoff Bennett: So now we see the Biden administration trying to contain China, trying to develop more relationships, stronger relationships in the Indo-Pacific. He’s calling for greater stability in the region.

What’s your assessment of the threat that China poses as it amasses more military and scientific and technological strength?

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Well, I think it poses potentially a very great threat, first and foremost, in its region, starting with Taiwan, but not ending there.

Clearly, China has demonstrated an aggressive approach. And they have, as you said, invested a lot of money in a blue water navy, creating much more capacity.

What we’re hoping is that we can manage the relationship, so, yes, we have competition. We will have competition and strategic competition. And we should. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that. But we will not tip over, by intention or accident, into conflict.

Much of that depends upon the current Chinese leadership. And once a leader decides to stay for life, that’s not a good sign.

Geoff Bennett: As we talk about America’s role in the world, the continued funding and assistance for Ukraine is now a point of contention on Capitol Hill, how do you think Vladimir Putin is eying the growing political divide over the Ukraine issue in this country?

Hillary Rodham Clinton: I think Putin is not only thrilled by the divide over whether we continue, and at what levels, to fund Ukraine. I think he is fomenting it as well. Putin and his team that does the kind of interventions, covert and overt, aiming to undermine democracy and to suborn political leaders, is a big part of how he sees his role. So, when I see people parroting Russian talking points that first showed up on Russia Today or first showed up in a speech from a Russian official, that’s a big point scored for Putin.

When I see Americans in positions of responsibility talking about how we shouldn’t support the people of Ukraine, they’re corrupt, yes, they are working very hard to be transparent and accountable. And talk about corruption. There is the master of corruption living in the Kremlin.

So there’s an ideological and, sadly, partisan political divide. And I know that the majority of Congress is still in favor of supporting Ukraine. So we have got to get through this period. We have to pass legislation and continue to support.

And, Geoff, this fight is our fight. Honestly, I don’t understand any American siding with Putin, but we have seen it, and we have heard it, and we have to fight against it.

Geoff Bennett: As we talk about Congress, there’s this effort now led by Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Does Congressman McCarthy, Speaker McCarthy, does he deserve to keep his job as speaker, and should Democrats help bail him out?

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Well, I’m going to let Hakeem Jeffries and his caucus decide that.

But I was pleasantly surprised that the speaker did the right thing when he made common cause with those, as we like to say, grownup members of his own Republican Caucus and Democrats to keep the government open. I would have hope that that kind of mature leadership isn’t punished by the most extreme members of his caucus.

So, how the Democrats play this — and they have a couple of different options — is for them to decide. But I think McCarthy did the right thing for the country. And isn’t that a good thing to be able to say he did the right thing for the country?

Geoff Bennett: On this matter of extremists within the GOP, President Biden has said that the Trump Republicans, the MAGA Republicans, as he puts it, are semi-fascists, and that there’s this growing authoritarian strain in the Republican Party.

Do you see it that way? And what’s the best way to remedy that, if you do see it that way?

Hillary Rodham Clinton: I do see it that way.

And I’m not — I’m not happy about saying that. And I know President Biden wasn’t happy, because it sounds so discordant to our ears. How could we be growing a kind of authoritarian political force inside our country? The people who are at the leadership level of all of that, both elected and unelected, are promoting lies and being incredibly divisive and, frankly, being loyal to a wannabe dictator.

And how did we get here? I don’t know all the answers. Lots of people are writing books about that. But I do know you have to do several things. You have to defeat those people at the polls. And there’s nothing more important than sending a resounding message. Let’s get back to regular politics.

You and I can agree or disagree, as Democrats and Republicans from different regions of our country, different kinds of points of view, but let’s get back to having a fact-based political discussion, where, yes, OK, what do you think about climate change and how we’re going to deal with it, or what do you think about our economy and how we’re going to grow it?

Let’s have that kind of discussion. But let’s move away from the lies and the personal attacks…