When a prominent candidate running for president invites a critically acclaimed reporter to sit down and talk "off the record," it can be assumed the candidate is trying to establish a better rapport with the press. If this was Hillary Clinton’s objective, it will likely be considered a failure.
Mark Leibovich described his time with Hillary Clinton as "frustrating," "highly unusual," and "bizarre" to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Friday. The account is hardly the kind of media coverage Clinton was aiming for.
The New York Times Magazine national correspondent and author of This Town initially rejected Clinton’s offer to meet because the campaign forbade any of their discussion to be reported on.
"It was just bizarre," Leibovich said.
An opportunity to ask Clinton questions is extremely rare, however, so Leibovich told Mitchell he reluctantly accepted. The reporter described, "The process I went through to get even this tiny bit of humanity of her."
The reporter wondered why Clinton refused show her true self to the press and American public. He referred to there being two different Hillarys.
"You know this other person exists," Leibovich said. "There's this duality of the Hillary her friends know and swear by and then the public, much more calculating, you know, scripted version of Hillary."