Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for the White House in a video posted on social media last week, finally ending widespread speculation about her decision to run.
The coming election won’t be her first time aiming for the presidency. In 2008, Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama.
For the 2016 election, Clinton is focusing her campaign on connecting with everyday people. In her announcement video, she said, “Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion.” However, trying to connect with certain factions of voters could prove difficult.
A series of controversies involving Clinton have already impacted her campaign. The most prominent being the email scandal from Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. In defiance of the Federal Records Act, Clinton used a private email to conduct government business. When confronted by Congress, Clinton pleaded innocence, yet it was discovered that the emails were deleted. Many wonder whether Clinton has been attempting to hide emails from her time in the State Department.
Clinton’s connections with Wall Street do not help her with middle class voters. In her announcement, she said, “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.” This exposes her hypocrisy in trying to understand the middle class. Her campaign has raised millions of dollars from Wall Street bankers due to her comfortable relationship with the financial sector. Clinton’s net worth alone is worth more than all current Republican candidates combined. She clearly doesn’t understand the struggles of the middle class.
Despite Clinton’s popularity with Democrats, many independent and millennial voters are unsure of who to vote for. These votes are crucial to win the presidency and Clinton is scaring these voters away instead of attracting them to her campaign. Many voters are unsure and hesitant in electing another Clinton to the White House.
Clinton’s biggest critic isn’t another Democrat or even a Republican, but rather the American people.
