Clinton Pledges Fast-Track Immigration Bill, Economic Boost for Blacks, Latinos

Hillary Clinton took questions from the media at a meeting of black and Hispanic journalists in Washington DC on Friday, in what her campaign touted as the candidate’s first press conference in more than 240 days.

Though Clinton has not held a press conference all year, she has participated in around a dozen “gaggles”, which are less formal sessions in which traveling reporters are able to ask some questions.

Last week could have been a bad one for Hillary Clinton: a disappointing economic growth report, a misleading answer to a question about her emails – she claimed the Federal Bureau of Investigation director called her “truthful” – and a controversy over USA payments to Iran. The election should help, she said. Polls consistently find that many Americans do not trust her and do not believe she is honest.

Clinton began her remarks by focusing on the economy and how blacks and Latinos have had difficulty recovering from the recent recession.

“Donald Trump’s problems go far beyond economics”, Clinton told a capacity crowd at the Marriott Wardenpark. I have listened to them, and so many of them are looking for an explanation as to why they lost the job they had for 18 years when the factory closed, and nobody cared about them.

When questioned about whether or not this eroded voters trust in her, she mentioned that Michael Morell, former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, just endorsed her because he believes that she can keep the nation safe while Trump is a security threat.

In March 2015, Clinton acknowledged that she had exchanged about 60,000 emails from her private email account during her stint in the Obama administration, among which about half were personal and thus deleted. Clinton told NY magazine months ago that she had become addicted to mystery novels: “I like a lot of women authors, novels about women, mysteries where a woman is the protagonist”. “I think the core of his support really centers on the disappointment in the economy that so many Americans feel”, she said.

“So I may have short-circuited”, she added in her response to a question from reporters during the joint press event, her closest to an official press conference in eight months.

Her comments Friday came before an unusual audience: the media. “Rosa Parks opened up every seat on the bus but now we have to create the economic opportunities for everyone to be fair”, said Clinton, the first female Democratic presidential nominee. “I do take it seriously when people say those things, and I recognize that I have work to do”.

“We have to recognize that, of course, some of the appeal is xenophobic, racist, misogynistic.”

In her prepared remarks, Clinton spoke of her commitment to black and Hispanic communities in general, citing plans to reinvigorate the USA economy and pass comprehensive immigration and criminal justice reform.

She has often faced questions about her statements in support of a 1994 crime bill passed by her husband Bill Clinton.