After 90 days of campaigning and literally roping off reporters from her, Hillary Clinton has finally graced CNN with her first national interview as a 2016 candidate. (Of course, the reporter she let interview her, Brianna Keiler, recently attended the wedding of Clinton's grassroots director, but ya know.) It didn't go particularly well for Clinton--as Keilar herself later acknowledged.
Clinton denied any blame for voters' well-documented distrust of her, saying, "When you are subjected to the kind of constant barrage of attacks that are largely fomented by and coming from the right…”
"But do you bear any responsibility for it?" Keilar interjected.
Clinton continued to dodge blame, calling it "understandable" that people have doubts "when questions are raised" (aka by the dirty Republicans, not by her own actions) but maintained that "People should and do trust me.”
She vigorously defended her use of private email, insisting, "Everything I did was permitted, and I went above and beyond what anybody could have expected.”
When asked about her infamous avoidance of the press, Clinton replied, “I’m not running my campaign for the press.”
She also said that SNL was “doing a great job” portraying her, but that “I think I’m the best Hillary Clinton, to be honest. I’m just gonna be my own little self."
The interview is already being panned by the press—the Washington Post picked it apart piece by piece, deeming Clinton “rusty,” while Keilar herself later said, “I did not hear a more open or transparent Hillary Clinton.”
Watch the interview below, via CNN: