It’s election week in America, as millions of voters across the nation head to the polls to weigh in on who they want to represent them in Congress and beyond. Though Hillary Clinton is not on the ballot this year, she has some considerable experience in this arena as former first lady, secretary of state, and presidential candidate, and she appeared on The View on Monday (November 2) to offer her thoughts about what is in store.
Clinton, who was joined at the table by her podcast cohost, Kara Swisher, was asked about her read on the current political climate, which indicates strong Democratic turnout in early voting and polling.
“I’m feeling really optimistic, but I’m an optimist who worries a lot. So until it’s actually done and every vote is counted fairly, completely, and the results are in, I’m going to be worried,” Clinton said. “We’re seeing Democratic movement in places that we never could have predicted three months ago, six months ago, and I think if people turn out, and that’s really the biggest message we can all give you, I will say: If you turn out and vote and vote your conscience and vote your interests and vote for the end of what we’ve been living through these last years, we’re going to get our country back, and then we can fight about how we do things together.”
After Sunny Hostin asked if Trump would try to interfere with the election, she said, “Well, he certainly has been trying with all of his legal actions and threats, trying to seize ballots, trying to bring litigation against states, tell them they are not running the elections right and have ineligible voters. So he’s been trying.” However, Clinton also predicted that state and local officials, along with legal groups, will hold the line. “It won’t go unanswered if they try to mess with people.”
Still, Clinton predicted the Trump administration would use “intimidation” on election day, “having ICE or others show up and just be standing there, staring at people, looking threatening to voters,” but it wouldn’t work. “I do think people are tougher than that.”
ABC
After the election is done, Clinton predicted, “There is going to be an effort to try to convince certain states not to certify election results, to hold the votes. There may well be efforts by an outgoing Congress under Republican leadership to try to launch investigations into certain elections. We have a pretty good idea of all these tactics they might deploy.”
Clinton also made a major prediction about how Trump will react if and when the Republicans lose Congress in the midterms. “If we are successful in winning both the House and the Senate, which I hope we will be, then I think he’s going to get even more out of control because I think he’s going to feel cornered. I think he’s going to feel angry. I think he’s going to be lashing out. But at least we will have some leverage to try to hold him to account through the Congress, which is what their job should be.”
The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC