Hillary Clinton on people telling her to 'go away': 'They never said that to any man'
- Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton pushed back against people telling her to "go away" and stop talking about the 2016 election and President Donald Trump.
- During an event at Rutgers University on Thursday, Clinton said no one ever "said that to any man who was not elected."
- But even as Republicans and some Democrats continue to urge Clinton to move on from the 2016 race, she continues to speak out.
Hillary Clinton addressed criticism Thursday over her decision to continue speaking in public about the 2016 election and President Donald Trump.
"I was really struck by how people said that to me. ... 'Go away, go away,'" the former Democratic presidential nominee said during a speaking event at Rutgers University. "They never said that to any man who was not elected."
Clinton then talked about how Al Gore didn't stop talking about climate change after he lost the presidential race in 2000, and how John Kerry went on to become a US senator and secretary of state after his loss in 2004.
She also pointed to John McCain and Mitt Romney as examples of presidential candidates who remained a part of the national political conversation even after their losses.
Despite the pushback against her continued public appearances, Clinton said she was still "committed to speaking out and doing what I can to have a voice in the debate about where our country's going."
Immediately after the 2016 election, Clinton took some time off, spending her days walking in the woods and reflecting on the campaign near her home in Chappaqua, New York.
Clinton said the long walks along with her "share of chardonnay" helped her cope with the "pretty traumatic" election.
But her hiatus from public life didn't last long. She has given numerous talks, speeches, and interviews discussing her experience. Last September, she published a memoir about the campaign, titled "What Happened."
And earlier this month during a speech at the India Today Conclave 2018 in Mumbai, Clinton drew scrutiny when she said the portion of the US she won in 2016 represents parts of the country that are "optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward ... and [Trump's] whole campaign, 'Make America Great Again,' was looking backwards."
Conservatives perceived her comments to be condescending towards Trump voters and reminiscent of her infamous remarks calling half of all Trump supporters "deplorable."
But Republicans aren't the only ones who want to see less of Clinton in public. Some Democrats have criticized her as well.
"For those of us that are in states that Trump won, we would really appreciate if [Clinton] would be more careful and show respect to every American voter and not just the ones who voted for her," Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill told MSNBC.
When North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was asked when Clinton will "ride off into the sunset" on a radio show earlier this month, Heitkamp replied: "I don't know. Not soon enough."