Hillary Clinton Wants to Defeat Nationalists Who Want to Curtail Migration by Curtailing Migration

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged European leaders to curtail migration to combat right-wing nationalists who want to curtail migration in an interview with The Guardian.

Clinton told the British newspaper that while German Chancellor Angela Merkel deserves credit for her “generosity” in taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees, she believes immigration is “inflaming voters” and “contributed to the election of Donald Trump and Britain’s vote to leave the EU,” The Guardian reported.

“I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame,” she said. “I admire the very generous and compassionate approaches that were taken particularly by leaders like Angela Merkel, but I think it is fair to say Europe has done its part, and must send a very clear message – ‘we are not going to be able to continue provide refuge and support’ – because if we don’t deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic.”

“The use of immigrants as a political device and as a symbol of government gone wrong, of attacks on one’s heritage, one’s identity, one’s national unity has been very much exploited by the current administration here,” she added. “There are solutions to migration that do not require clamping down on the press, on your political opponents and trying to suborn the judiciary, or seeking financial and political help from Russia to support your political parties and movements.”

Journalists call out Clinton hypocrisy:

“Hillary Clinton wants to give in to xenophobia to stop xenophobia. Here’s an idea: end the regime change wars and rapacious economic policies that cause people to flee their homelands in the first place,” wrote Rania Khalek.

“So in order to defeat xenophobic right-wing populism, centrists are going to enact the agenda of xenophobic right-wing populism. Makes sense!” added journalist Ishmael Daro.

“It is one of the enduring perplexities of centrist politics, one whose adherents attack the left for being unrealistic and unconcerned with electoral victory, that on immigration it has stuck to pandering to xenophobia despite the benefit of that never materialising at the ballot box,” Nesrine Malik wrote in The Guardian. “You cannot outflank the right by adopting its promises, that way you only end up as its handmaiden.”

Hillary defenders insist comments were taken out of “context”:

Tireless Clinton defenders insisted the comments were taken “out of context” despite the lengthy quotes published by The Guardian.

“I’m reserving judgement until I hear/read the transcript. This would not be the first time something Hillary has said is being taken out of context for clickbait. Let’s remember that this is the same woman who has been advocating for refugee children detained in the US,” one user wrote.

“This is exactly the kind of statement that can be taken out of context and used to rev up the old, tired, hate-us-some-Hillary narrative,” another user added.

“It’s interesting how many people reply insisting that this was taken out of context. Once again, here is the full context,” liberal activist Laura Moser pointed out to one user, with a link to the Guardian article with the full text of her comments.

 

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