Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) told MSNBC anchor Kasie Hunt on Sunday that former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should respect all American voters, not just the ones who supported her in 2016.
Hunt asked McCaskill about a new campaign ad from her likely Republican opponent Josh Hawley. The ad criticizes McCaskill by using Clinton's controversial India comments about Trump voters.
"There is an ad from your opponent, Josh Hawley, that features the words of Hillary Clinton, who you of course endorsed in 2016. He says 'if you look at the map of United States, that's all the red in the middle where Trump won.' He's quoting Hillary Clinton who also said, 'so, I won the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, and moving forward.' Were these comments from Hillary Clinton helpful to you?" Hunt asked.
"Probably not," McCaskill responded.
Clinton spoke at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai, India earlier this month where she said Trump voters were looking"backwards" and bragged about winning places where "two-thirds of the gross domestic product" is produced.
McCaskill said she felt like Clinton was criticizing Missouri voters with her remarks and would "appreciate it" if Clinton would show respect for people who didn't support her.
"I understand the point she was trying to make. But it felt like she was criticizing Missouri voters, and I would draw–talking about drawing a line, I would draw a line there. I have great respect for Missouri voters and there are a lot of reasons they voted for Donald Trump, some of which I completely understand," McCaskill said.
"I think it was wrong how she put it. I think it certainly is being taken out of context ... but she knows things that you say are taken out of context. So, for those of us that are in states that Trump won, we would really appreciate if she would be more careful and show respect to every American voter and not just the ones who voted for her," McCaskill added.