One ABC reporter on the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton is not impressed with her new efforts to project authenticity and, in the mocked words of a New York Times article, "bring spontaneity" to her struggling campaign for the Democratic nomination.
On ABC's This Week, reporter Cecilia Vega was asked by host Martha Raddatz about how Clinton measures up in that area with Vice President Joe Biden, who was widely praised after his emotional interview with Stephen Colbert about whether he could run for the presidency while grieving the death of his son Beau.
Vega said Clinton herself is the main roadblock to her campaign trying to connect better with voters.
"Well, she is certainly trying, but perhaps her biggest threat to this may be Hillary Clinton herself," Vega said. "We're seeing this shift in Hillary Clinton right now. You saw her dancing on 'Ellen,' you're seeing someone who's trying to be more spontaneous ... The reality is, though, you go back to that poll that came out recently that say the first words that come to mind for many voters when they hear the words 'Hillary Clinton:' Liar, dishonest, untrustworthy. She has a real problem on this front."
Clinton, meanwhile, has almost immediately attempted to jumpstart her campaign that has been weighed down by her private email scandal for months. She finally apologized this week after months of insisting she had done nothing wrong with her server. She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, booked an appearance with Jimmy Fallon, and she grew teary-eyed while discussing her mother with ABC's David Muir.
Clinton's apparent attempt to immediately bring that spontaneity her aides talked about was mocked by political observers. MSNBC's Morning Joe called it "calculated," "stagecraft" and "so hamfisted" in a blistering segment about Clinton's new strategy Wednesday.