Flashback: Another Time the Clintons Dragged the Press Behind a Rope
Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign also used a rope line for the press.
WASHINGTON -- It looks like last weekend wasn’t the first time the Clintons have had the press at the end of their rope.
A video — unearthed and circulated by the Republican National Committee (and making a splash on social media) — shows reporters being dragged along behind a rope line in a parade featuring Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton.
But it wasn’t from last Saturday, when Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign used the tactic with reporters covering her marching in New Hampshire. It comes from former President Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
The footage shows reporters and photographers scurrying backward while getting dragged by Clinton aides holding a rope. One reporter is pushed aside by a Secret Service agent.
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton smiles and waves to the crowd, while Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea walk at his side.
Almost 23 years later, Hillary Clinton’s campaign corralled reporters behind a rope line during a parade in Gorham, New Hampshire. Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill explained the move: “We wanted to accommodate the press, allow her to greet voters and allow the press to be right there in the parade with her as opposed to preset locations.”
Nevertheless, photos of incident went viral on social media.
On Tuesday, while campaigning in Iowa, Hillary Clinton seemed to laugh off the incident, opening a press conference with this quip:
“Is that the equivalent of a rope?” she asked. “I think it should come down. I don’t want anybody [to be] stressed.”