Hillary Clinton's re-litigation of her 2016 election loss and broadsides at fellow Democrats in her new memoir are angering members of the party, with one former surrogate calling her selfish and wishing she would "shut the fuck up and go away."
In What Happened, Clinton blasts Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) for doing "lasting damage" and "paving the way" for Donald Trump's "Crooked Hillary" attacks; she also takes a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden and his criticisms about her overtures to the middle class.
Since her defeat, Clinton has insisted she takes responsibility for losing but has also laid blame on a variety of other factors, such as former FBI Director James Comey, Russian meddling in the election, coverage of her private email scandal, fake news, poor Democratic National Committee data operations, and sexism.
In interviews with The Hill, former Clinton allies lashed out at her for score-settling when the Democratic Party is trying to move forward.
"The best thing she could do is disappear," said one former Clinton fundraiser and surrogate described as having an active role at the party's convention. "She's doing harm to all of us because of her own selfishness. Honestly, I wish she'd just shut the fuck up and go away."
While Trump and Republicans have struggled to push through their legislative agenda, Democrats have been consumed by infighting and special election losses in 2017.
"None of this is good for the party," said one former Obama aide. "It's the Hillary Show, 100 percent. A lot of us are scratching our heads and wondering what she's trying to do. It's certainly not helpful."
Democrats who spoke on the record with The Hill were more sympathetic; Democratic strategist Steve McMahon said the book was "cathartic" for Clinton.
Texas Democratic chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called her "brilliant" but said she needed to move on from the race.
"I think what people want from her, and what the party needs, is the guidance she can provide in how we proceed in the future," Hinojosa said. "She has a lot to offer in that respect, even if she didn't reach everyone she needed to in the campaign. But she needs to not worry about what happened in the past."
Former Obama administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki said this week on CNN that Clinton was "so much more than what happened in this campaign."
"There are lots of people litigating that. I don't think it needs to be her, and I frankly wish it wasn't her," she said.
Clinton is set for a Sunday morning interview on CBS to discuss her book ahead of its Sept. 12 release, and she will also be on the left-leaning ABC talk show "The View" on Wednesday.