Jennifer Palmieri, who served as Hillary Clinton’s communication director during the 2016 presidential election, got a front row seat to see the dejection that women felt when the candidate lost. But looking back, Palmieri sees the defeat as a triggering moment. “It might not have been a glass ceiling...but something sure shattered and women decided to react in a very powerful way,” she told Cheddar Monday. Since President Trump was voted in, movements such as the Women’s March and #MeToo have taken hold and inspired change. Palmieri isn’t giving up on the idea of a female president, perhaps even as soon as 2020. But to get there, she says, there are two big hurdles female candidates will need to overcome. The first is ambition. “Where I think we still struggle is thinking about women and ambition,” she explained. “It was a question of, ‘Well, why does she want the job? What’s her motivation behind it?’ That’s different from the questions people have for male candidates. “It’s the suspicion about motivations...that’s what was underneath comments that you would hear.” The second is that they’re in uncharted territory. “What I’m telling women now is...you are in a new universe...you have to understand you are charting a new path and there isn’t a manual here.” Palmieri is the author of “Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World.” For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/hillary-clintons-former-director-of-communications-on-the-democrats-she-thinks-can-beat-trump-in-2020).

Share:
More In Politics
Skydio CEO On Russia-US Drone Collision
Adam Bry, co-founder and CEO of drone manufacturer Skydio, joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's latest funding round and the Russia-US drone collision.
Fed Set to Launch Digital Payments System Over the Summer
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday evening said its long-awaited digital payment system, the FedNow Service, will start operating in July. The service is designed to provide a national platform for financial institutions to settle payments in real-time and at lower cost. That could include large banks, payment processors, and the U.S. Treasury.
Long-Used US Abortion Pill Under Threat in Texas Lawsuit
A federal judge in Texas raised questions Wednesday about a Christian group's effort to overturn the decades-old U.S. approval of a leading abortion drug, in a case that could threaten the country's most common method for ending pregnancies.
Load More