Hillary Clinton opens up about the moment she realized she lost the election

091317_hillaryclinton
091317_hillaryclinton

ABC

ABC(WASHINGTON) — Hillary Clinton was “sure” that she was going to win the 2016 election, saying she didn’t realize it wasn’t going her way until election night, she told The View Friday morning.

The former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate said she thought the race “was going to be a close, hard-fought campaign,” but that she would ultimately come out on top.

When asked if she cried the night of the election, Clinton said, “No.”

“No, we didn’t cry that night,” she said, referring to her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Hillary Clinton explained her reaction was caused by a need to “be strong for my family and my friends and my supporters.”

She said the Oct. 29 letter issued by former FBI Director James Comey’s about continuing investigations into her emails cost her the election.

“I would’ve won but for Jim Comey’s letter,” Clinton said.

“That stopped my momentum, and it really caused enough people to move away from me. Some moved to Trump. Some moved to third parties. Some didn’t vote. The net effect was pretty clear,” she said.

Hillary Clinton’s appearance on The View comes a day after her latest book, What Happened, went on sale.

Taking on the Trump administration

She responded to the remarks White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made during Tuesday’s press briefing about Clinton’s book, with the former Democratic presidential candidate saying, “I honestly don’t pay much attention to what she says.”

“Unfortunately — and I don’t say this with any glee –I’m sad about it, we’re not getting the kind of information from this White House that we should,” Clinton said.

Clinton added that she believes in continuing to give President Donald Trump “a chance to lead,” as she said in her concession speech, but that didn’t stop her from criticizing Trump’s performance thus far.

“I’m very disappointed in what I’ve seen so far,” Clinton said. “I also hope that there can be a greater understanding of what it means to be president for the entire country.”

She specifically criticized the president’s handling of the threats and rising tensions with North Korea, saying that it is “a very serious issue” and adding that the U.S. needs to be working with its allies, such as South Korea, Japan and China.

“It doesn’t help for the president on Twitter to insult South Korea. … That’s not useful,” she said.

Weighing in on the investigation into Russian meddling

Clinton said she adamantly supports the investigation into Russian interference in the election, saying that “there’s a lot to investigate.”

“There’s a lot of smoke, and whether or not there’s fire, we need to figure it out,” she said. “There is no denying that the Russians interfered in the election, whether or not they had willing or unwitting help from the Trump team.”

She dismissed criticism that her book is living in the past or resurfacing old wounds, making the point that some of the issues that came up in the 2016 election will continue to come up.

“It’s not just about the past. For example, the Russians are still messing with our democracy. They will be as aggressive as they can get away with,” she said. “Not a Republican or Democrat issue. They may have gone after me this last time. If they think they can destabilize us, which is Putin’s goal — he wants to undermine our democracy. If he succeeds in that, we’re all worse off.”

Answering questions on her marriage

Hillary Clinton said the book delves into some personal questions as well, including questions about her marriage and criticism she has faced for staying married to Bill.

“People will say, ‘Oh, they have an arrangement.’ Yeah — it’s called a marriage,” she said. “There have been a lot more happy days than sad or angry days.”

“I am proud and grateful I am married to my best friend,” she added. “He has been my biggest source of encouragement and support over all the years, many more than some of you have been alive that we have been together.”

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