In this Aug. 26, 2015,
file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks
about rural issues at the Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny,
Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
WASHINGTON—For Hillary Clinton, the presidential campaign
has been about building an approachable image: She’s often eschewed big
arenas in favor of town halls, peppered her ads with personal stories
and planned less-scripted gatherings with voters.
But emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal a careful,
behind-the-scenes effort to review introductory remarks for college
presidents and students presenting the Democratic front-runner as a
speaker, as well as suggesting questions that happened to be aligned
with her campaign platform.
While it’s not unusual for campaigns to plan detailed appearances,
the exchanges preview the kind of image-control apparatus that could be
deployed in a Clinton White House, including attempts to steer
conversations with her audiences. They also run counter to her
campaign’s efforts to make Clinton look less wooden and scripted than
she did when running eight years ago.
Clinton’s preparedness appears in contrast with the presumptive
Republican nominee, Donald Trump, who rarely pulls punches in his
speeches, speaks more spontaneously and has far more apparently
unplanned, unscripted interactions.
A spokesman for Clinton’s campaign, Nick Merrill, promised to provide
a statement to the AP in response to detailed questions but did not
provide one.
The newly revealed exchanges, which surfaced in open-records
requests, show the trappings of a Clinton campaign that touts
off-the-cuff moments, like the story of a little girl who asked Clinton:
“If you’re elected the girl president, will you be paid the same as the
boy president?” That line is a stump speech favorite.
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