Hillary Clinton defended herself during Thursday night’s MSNBC Democratic debate against criticism of the speaking fees she took from Wall Street firms after leaving the State Department.
“What I want people to know is, I went to Wall Street before the crash,” Clinton said. “I was the one saying you’re going to wreck the economy because of these shenanigans with mortgages. I called to end the loopholes that hedge fund managers enjoy. I called for a consumer protection financial bureau before it was created. I think the best evidence that the Wall Street people at least know where I stand and where I have always stood is because they are trying to beat me in this primary.”
Clinton’s defense came a day after she was asked about the same speaking fees, which Sanders had been using as a line of attack, during a CNN town hall. Asked by host Anderson Cooper why she took home more than $600,000 in speaking fees in a single year from financial firm Goldman Sachs, Clinton responded: “Well, I don’t know. That’s what they offered.”
On Thursday night, she seemed determined to offer a more robust counter.
“I think it’s important for everybody to understand I have a record,” Clinton said. “I have stood firm, and I will be the person who prevents them from ever wrecking the economy again.”