Hillary Clinton surrogate Jennifer Granholm had trouble defending Clinton's ties to Wall Street during an interview on Monday.
Granholm spoke with MSNBC host Tamron Hall soon after Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) participated in a rally for the first time together.
"Listen, it's one thing to get caught up in the moment of those two women walking out together ... Senator Warren talked a lot about Wall Street," Hall said. "You have some progressives who say, how can she support Hillary Clinton so passionately when we know that the Democratic nominee has been greatly associated with Wall Street from the speeches and other issues of trust that still exist?"
Granholm then spoke at length while trying to change the subject.
"Well, clearly, anybody who looks at Hillary Clinton's policy page, and I'm sure Elizabeth Warren has, and I'm sure Elizabeth Warren helped to inform it, would know that Hillary Clinton has got the most aggressive strategy to rein in Wall Street, to regulate the shadow banking system, to shore up what is known as the Volcker Rule, to help separate investment banks from commercial banks," she said. "Honestly, Elizabeth Warren is very comfortable supporting Hillary Clinton, because Hillary Clinton has embraced a huge amount of what Elizabeth Warren stands for, including, you heard her spend a huge amount of time talking about student debt, and that of course, is directed at Bernie Sanders supporters, as well."
Granholm tried to change the subject to Donald Trump.
Hall pointed out Warren had not always been a "fan of Hillary Clinton," particularly in relation to Wall Street-related issues.
"But she, I mean, that's not true. I mean, she did represent Wall Street, but she also went to Wall Street to say, knock it off, you guys," Granholm said. "This right at the time of the foreclosure meltdown and the meltdown in the financial industry. She was right there saying we have got to stop this."
"She's the one who's put forth that we have to not just shore up Dodd-Frank, the statute that regulates the banking industry, but we have got to enhance it. So I disagree with the premise that those on the other side are making, that she's somehow, you know, hand-in-glove with Wall Street. She has been, she has gone to Wall Street and said you have got to clean up your act."
Hall then noted how a large number of those criticizing Clinton for her Wall Street ties are not Republicans, but other Democrats and liberals, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and how Clinton made hundreds of thousands of dollars off of her speeches to Wall Street firms. Granholm admitted this point, but then said that Clinton has tough plans on Wall Street on her website now.
"The point about her policies, what is in writing, in black and white, on her website, is which, that's her promise, that's what she's said she will do. We know that she has got, in fact, economists have said, she has the toughest plan to regulate Wall Street," Granholm said. "So that, I mean—having Elizabeth Warren there is really important to validate that she is going to be tough on Wall Street, and that she's not going to allow a similar kind of crisis to a occur."