Democratic Ohio State Sen. Capri Cafaro said Thursday that media scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s claim that she applied to the Marines is "a little bit sexist," an accusation that the Clinton campaign itself has used in the past.
Cafaro said on The O'Reilly Factor that Clinton should be used to the scrutiny, but she had some trouble correctly recounting the scandals Clinton has been involved in.
"I mean, Secretary Clinton has been under the hot light of scrutiny most of her adult life," she said. "From Watergate to Benghazi--from Whitewater to Benghazi, here is a woman whose life has been on display, and this should be no surprise to her."
She said that the Washington Post investigation into Clinton’s claim, however, was sexist, since male candidates were not under scrutiny for similar claims.
"I do think though that it is a little bit sexist, if I may say so myself," Cafaro said. "We’re not hearing anything about any of the male candidates who are of the age of the Vietnam War."
"If they talked about Vietnam, then you could say that," Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said. "It’s got to be contextual."
O’Reilly said that it is the responsibility of journalists to scrutinize the claims that presidential candidates make.
"It’s not sexist to investigate whether Hillary Clinton did or did not try to sign up for the Marines. That’s what journalists are supposed to do," he said.
Other presidential candidates have faced similar investigations. Republican candidate Dr. Ben Carson has come under intense media scrutiny for claiming that he attempted to stab a classmate at 14, and for saying that he was invited to attend West Point on a scholarship.
The Clinton campaign has recently come under criticism for "smearing" its opponents as sexists to their own advantage.