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).
Even amid the spread of the Delta variant, Republican governors in states like Florida and Texas have taken actions like banning mask mandates for school districts that will soon bring students back for the year. This argument happens amid a stark increase in pediatric COVID cases.
Bianca Quilantan, education reporter at POLITICO, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
In stories sure to move markets next week, Robinhood and several retail giants report earnings, Jerome Powell takes the podium, New York City's mask mandate goes into effect, and Tesla hosts its 'AI Day.'
Former President Trump remains the standard-bearer of the Republican Party in his first six months removed from office. But despite his position atop the party, others are moving to shore up their own bona fides. Chief among them is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who has signed a bevy of bills popular among conservatives this year. He's viewed as a potential successor to trump, and that's creating tension with the still-present Trump.
Matt Dixon, POLITICO Florida bureau chief, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
