Mark Halperin said Thursday morning he does not believe Hillary Clinton actually opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal President Obama has negotiated as she says she does.
"This is I don't believe Hillary CLinton's actual position on the deal," Halperin said while on Morning Joe.
The With All Due Respect co-host cited her husband's previous support for trade deals while president to demonstrate the politics at play with Clinton's decision. First Lady Clinton supported Bill Clinton on NAFTA.
"She's not triangulating, that's for sure," Sam Stein said.
Clinton ended her months-long posturing on TPP on Wednesday, announcing her opposition to the deal amd breaking with President Obama on yet another issue.
"What I know about it as of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it. And there’s one other element I want to make because I think it’s important," Clinton said during a PBS Newshour interview. "Trade agreements don’t happen in a vacuum, and in order for us to have a competitive economy in the global market place, there are things we need to do at home that help raise wages. And the Republicans have blocked everything President Obama tried to do on that front. So for the larger issues, and then what I know, and again I don’t have the text, we don’t yet have all the details, I don’t think it will meet the high bar I have set."
Clinton has not always opposed this trade deal. As secretary of state, Clinton reached out to the Asian nations involved in the pact to begin negotiations. She has vocally expressed support for the TPP at least 45 times. From 2010 to as recently as 2013, Clinton championed the deal as the gold standard for trade agreements.
Clinton's opponents have criticized her for altering her position dependent on the political calendar.
"Secretary Clinton can justify her own reversal of opinion on this but I can tell you that I didn't have one opinion eight months ago and then switch that opinion on the eve of debates," Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said of his rival.