Hillary Clinton noted during Thursday’s PBS Democratic debate that it was the first ever primary debate to feature “a majority of women.”
“We’ve had like 200 presidential primary debates, and this is the first time there have been a majority of women on the stage,” Clinton said. “So we’ll take our progress wherever we can find it.”
PBS NewsHour anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff moderated the debate, where presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was the only man on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee stage.
Clinton’s answer came in response to a question about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright resurfacing a favorite line while campaigning for Clinton in New Hampshire: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.”
Female Sanders supporters took issue with the notion that they were being urged to vote for Clinton solely based on gender.
Clinton refuted the claim, pointing to her record on women’s rights and support for equal pay and paid family leave, even as Sanders jumped in to say that he supported the same policies and has a “lifetime 100% pro-choice voting record.”
Sanders also pushed back on a moderator saying he could be an “instrument of thwarting history” if he prevented Clinton from being the first female president.
“I think from an historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interests, I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well.”
Clinton then broke in again to say, “I am not asking people to support me because I’m a woman. I am asking people to support me because I think I am the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander in chief.”
