CNN reporters Brianna Keilar and Dana Bash argued Tuesday that former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had not taken responsibility for her 2016 loss to President Donald Trump.
Bash and Keilar were responding to an interview Clinton had on CNN in which the former secretary of state blamed external factors and herself for the election loss in November.
Keilar knocked Clinton for not mentioning the "original sin" of her campaign, by which she meant Clinton's use of a private email server while at the State Department. Clinton's email scandal, Keilar argued, affected voters' trust in her.
Bash noted that Clinton had a "remarkable moment" when "she said she definitely has regrets," but suggested that mea culpas were not characteristic of Clinton's public statements.
"I think the most telling line was her saying, 'I can't be anything other than what I am.' And for Hillary Clinton–to the frustration of a lot of her supporters–that includes being somebody who has some difficulty taking responsibility for what happens."
Clinton's indication that she was at fault for her election loss was new, Keilar suggested.
"We haven't seen that as much," Keilar said of Clinton taking responsibility. "She certainly is always first to go to external factors, be it James Comey or WikiLeaks."
Clinton's interview took place during a "Women for Women International" event with CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.
Fellow CNN anchor Jake Tapper has similarly suggested Clinton was not blaming herself enough for her 2016 loss.
Tapper claimed last month on his show "The Lead" that Clinton "doesn't seem to have done enough introspection," the Washington Free Beacon reported.
He noted "a whole list of reasons" why Clinton lost and suggested that she blamed other people–like Russian President Vladimir Putin and FBI Director James Comey–too much for her loss.
"Putin didn't tell you don't go to Wisconsin, James Comey didn't tell you [to] call one-quarter of the country 'deplorable,'" Tapper said, referring to a comment Clinton made on the campaign trail about Trump supporters.
CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers also criticized Clinton during that segment for not taking responsibility.
"It's just interesting. Never in this equation is Hillary Clinton to blame for anything, and she was after all the candidate," Powers said. "There were outside forces that were affecting the campaign, no question. But there were a lot of things I think related to her candidacy that were problematic."