Hillary Clinton’s Trustworthiness Questioned at Iowa Event

By Alison Lesley --
28 Apr 2015 --

A leading candidate in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton drew attention at the Faith & Freedom Coalition event in Iowa, but she may not have wanted it.

Hillary Clinton is one of the most powerful women in the world and a clear frontrunner both in the Democratic presidential primaries and in general election. Despite her unprecedented resume and universal name recognition after more than two decades on the national stage, Clinton is still a very polarizing figure. Voters at last weekend’s Faith & Freedom Coalition event in Iowa were, above all, skeptical of her trustworthiness.

More than 1,000 Iowans came to Point of Grace mega-church in Waukee, Iowa to listen to Clinton’s GOP rivals senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum, governors Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Scott Walker as well as former business executive Carly Fiorina. While Hillary Clinton did not attend, she was at the center of attention.

Several attendees of the religious event described the former secretary of state, senator, and first lady as dishonest. It is fair to say that this combined with Clinton’s familiarity will make it exceedingly difficult for Clinton to present herself as someone fresh and different at the tail end of a two-term presidency and free of the burdens of her and her husband’s past.

Read Hillary's thank you note to Iowa: http://t.co/kCFoGLXqho pic.twitter.com/0XMT89VAz3
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 27, 2015

Jeff Ortiz, an energy company supervisor, felt, “I just can’t see having a president of the United States I can’t look in the eye and feel they’re telling me the truth.”

He, like many others at the event, doubted Clinton’s explanations about her use of private e-mail instead of a government account when she was leading the state department. GOP primary candidate Carly Fiorina took a shot at Clinton by saying: “Hillary Clinton must not be president of the United States, but not because she’s a woman. Hillary Clinton must not be president of the United States because she is not trustworthy.”

Some voters also disapproved foreign donations that the Clinton foundation has received as well as her handling of the Benghazi embassy attack a few years ago. Others stated that it’s about time the United States had a woman president, but said they would rather support Elizabeth Warren over Clinton. A lifelong Republican David Hance said of Elizabeth Warren, “I like her very much. Why? She’s independent, she’s clear and I guess you’d say she’s charismatic”.