Bloomberg's Mark Halperin said on Thursday that Hillary Clinton is "particularly bad" about concealing her true desires from the public. Halperin went on to say that "in her heart" Clinton supports socialist single-payer health care.
"The worst thing for a politician to do is not to say what they actually believe," Halperin said. "Hillary Clinton is particularly bad at that."
Halperin and With All Due Respect co-host John Heilemann contrasted Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders's candor about his beliefs with Clinton's secrecy. Halperin said Hillary's true beliefs may be different from those expressed in her carefully poll-tested public statements.
"I'll give you an example," Halperin said. "Do you think in her heart Hillary Clinton would take single payer if she could have it—?"
"—Oh my god," Heilemann interjected in agreement.
"She has said as much reportedly on a few occasions," Halperin continued. "That's where Hillary Clinton's heart is."
Earlier in the segment, the hosts discussed Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's criticism of Sanders as a "socialist." Heilemann said Sanders' beliefs are closer to the mainstream of the Democratic Party than McCaskill's.
"The issues where she attacked him for being a socialist are all issues where he is much closer to the mainstream of the Democratic Party," Heilemann said. "So he can say, ‘Call me a socialist all you want, but this is where the party is on issues like Medicaid for all and the minimum wage.’"
A Gallup survey released last week found that the Democratic Party base has become "significantly more left-leaning" in the last 15 years.