Two days after he sat down with Bernie Sanders, Jimmy Kimmel did the same with Hillary Clinton, the Vermont senator's competition. Sanders on Tuesday was fresh off winning the Utah and Idaho primaries, but Clinton took Arizona the same night and remains the Democratic front-runner. Though she told Kimmel that she doesn't "take anything for granted," she seemed confident that she will indeed be the party's nominee. One of Kimmel's first questions, then, was how she feels about a potential series of debates with Donald Trump.
"If he's the nominee, I look forward to debating him," Clinton said. "Yes. Absolutely. I actually think most voters, when you start focusing on who can do the job, who can be president, who can be commander-in-chief...I think voters take that responsibility seriously. I look forward to debating him and trying to figure out where he stands on issues."
Kimmel also asked Clinton about the recent stalemate over President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court following the recent death of Antonin Scalia. Garland is considered a moderate selection from the president, and yet Senate Republicans have been reluctant to even entertain the idea of a nomination.
"Our country has faced this implacable wall of hostility from the Republicans," Clinton responded after praising the work Obama has done. "We're seeing it again with their opposition to even meeting with and considering the president's nominee for the Supreme Court. That, to me, is beyond partisanship. It's tearing at the guts of the Constitution and our responsibilities, for the president to do what he's done and for the Senate to fulfill their role."
In general, Clinton's appearance Thursday night was far more lighthearted than Sanders's on Tuesday. Clinton participated in a "mansplaining" bit, Kimmel assessed Clinton's campaign slogans and merchandise (no, she's not jealous of "Feel the Bern"), and considerable time was spent discussing relatively marginal issues, like her email, marijuana and, bizarrely, UFOs. In case you were wondering, Clinton is in favor of making public the government's classified material regarding UFOs—or, as she says they are now called, UAF (Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon)—as long as it wouldn't pose a threat to national security.
As for the marijuana issue, Clinton explained why, unlike Sanders, she remains opposed to decriminalizing it at the federal level, at least for now. "What the states are doing needs to be supported," she said. "I absolutely support all the states that are moving toward medical marijuana, moving toward legalizing it for recreation use, but I want to see what the states learn from that experience. There are still a lot of questions we have to answer at the federal level. Let's take it off the Schedule I and put it on a lower schedule so we can actually do research about it."
This cautious approach may hurt Clinton among the most fervent of marijuana advocates, but while Sanders is in favor of widespread decriminalization, Clinton has landed the coveted Snoop Dogg endorsement. Let's call it a wash.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Bort is a staff writer covering culture for Newsweek. Previously, he was a freelance writer and editor, and his ... Read more
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