Hillary Clinton Defends Her Paid Speeches

Hillary Clinton is starting to speak out since her 2016 election loss. The former Democratic president nominee spoke about her experience on the campaign trail at the Recode Convention, also known as Code Con 2017. One question from the panel was on the topic of Clinton’s paid speeches.

“Goldman Sachs,” moderator Walt Mossberg said. “You knew you were going on run for president or you thought might, or probably, you were thinking about it. You had to be thinking about it as a possibility. Why did you do those?”

“Why do you have Goldman Sachs here?” Clinton asked.

Moderator Kara Swisher replied, “Because they pay us.”

“They paid me,” Clinton said back.

“I know they paid you and they paid you a lot,” Mossberg said.

“Yes,” Clinton said.

Clinton clarified that she gave a number of paid speeches to a number of companies. She said she was aware of the role in the stock market crash of 2008 and has spoken out against their policies. But to be criticized for agreeing to a paid speech for Goldman Sachs, she calls unfair.

“Men got paid for the speeches they made. I got paid for the speeches I made. And it was used, and I thought it was unfairly used and all of that, but it was part of the background music.”

Paid Speeches

Clinton says that the majority of her speaking engagements in 2008 where about her work as Secretary of State. She was serving for the Obama administration at the time and was in the situation room when Osama bin Laden was killed. That raid, she says, was the most asked about topic for the paid speeches she gave.

Other politicians have been criticized for giving paid speeches. Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have all gotten some backlash for accepting a hefty paycheck for public speaking.

Recently, Clinton has been more vocal about the aftermath of the 2016 election. She gave an interview with New York Magazine, speaking candidly about how her life has changed since losing to President Donald Trump. Clinton is also becoming more active, including delivering a commencement speech at Wellesley College in May.

More from the Ethos3 Blog:

Hillary Clinton: I Did Goldman Sachs Speeches Because They Paid Me

Clinton: I Was ‘Unfairly’ Attacked for Goldman Sachs Speeches

Public Speaking Lessons from a Trump/Clinton Role Reversal

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