Now we’ve got to move away from coal and all the other fossil fuels, but I don’t want to move away from the people who did the best they could to produce energy that we relied on. Those people labored in those mines for generations, losing their health, often losing their lives to turn on our lights and power our factories. Because we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right, Tim? Īnd we’re going to make it clear that we don’t want to forget those people. So, for example, I’m the only candidate who has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country.

Instead of dividing people the way Donald Trump does, let’s reunite around politics that will bring jobs and opportunities to all these under-served poor communities. … The point I had wanted to make was the exact opposite of how it came out.Īs Clinton recounts, she was answering a question about how she would win support from working-class whites who normally vote Republican. Republican operatives made sure the clip was replayed virtually nonstop on Facebook feeds, local radio and television coverage, and campaign ads across Appalachian for months. Stripped of context, my words sounded heartless. There’s a whole chapter about it in her new book, “ What Happened.” She called the chapter, “Country Roads” and said that it was the campaign comment that she regrets the most from the entire race:

Now, more than 10 months after the general election, Clinton herself has a few things to say about that comment. That quote from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that was so taken out of context by the coal industry, Trump supporters and West Virginia political leaders (see here, here, here, here and here).

We certainly wrote a lot about it at the time she said it.

What happened hillary clinton quotes