NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd said Friday on MSNBC that Hillary Clinton is "trying to have it both ways" on trade.
Clinton said during an interview that she would be a no vote on trade promotion authority legislation that would give President Obama fast-track authority on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.
"She is trying to have it both ways. She’s saying she would be a no vote on this specific piece of legislation that is in the United States Senate right now, but she is also trying to say that she would generally perhaps be in favor of fast track if all of the other issues are agreed to," Todd said. "So look, I think that she is in a real box here. The party is one place. The base of the party is one place. Labor is in one place. What I think in her heart of hearts, I believe Secretary Clinton, the person who was Secretary of State who was trumpeting these trade agreements, who was pushing these trade agreements, calling TPP the gold standard of trade agreements."
As secretary of state, Clinton advocated for the TPP numerous times. CNN host Jake Tapper uncovered 45 examples of Clinton promoting TPP as Secretary of State.
The Free Beacon reported:
Hillary Clinton consistently pushed for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal while Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, but since she left the Obama administration and is now seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, she is hedging her stance.
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Now, as the left flank of the Democratic Party has come out strongly against it and dealt Obama an embarrassing legislative defeat last week on trade authority, Clinton seems unsure what the best political step to take is.
During a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa Clinton was asked about TPP where she responded that the deal was not fully negotiated and that she did not know the full provisions yet.