Hillary Clinton’s Secrecy is Getting Old

It was overshadowed by his remarks on Russia, but Donald Trump brought up a good point Wednesday morning when he mentioned to reporters that Hillary Clinton had not held a press conference since December of 2015.

“It’s been 235 days since Crooked Hillary Clinton has had a press conference and you as reporters who give her all these glowing reports should ask yourselves why,” Trump said. “I’ll tell you why: Despite the nice platitudes, she’s been a mess.”

When it comes to dealing with reporters, Clinton and Trump are on opposite sides of the spectrum. While Trump regularly criticizes the media for its biased deceit, he is as open to communication as any presidential candidate in recent history. Scarcely a day goes by without a Trump interview, and he frequently holds press conferences despite his combative relationship with the journalists who cover his campaign.

That’s in sharp contrast with Clinton, who acts as though answering questions causes her intense physical pain. She sits down for very few interviews, and her press conference phobia is beginning to look pathological.

It’s no secret that Hillary despises the press, of course. She considers any criticism of her a personal attack, no matter how fair and reasonable that criticism might be. Arrogant to her core, her eyes glow with hatred whenever she’s asked to explain her actions. Whether it’s about Benghazi, the email scandal, Syria, or her husband, she refuses to acknowledge that she might have – ever – done something wrong. Which, considering her track record, is an enormous wall of denial.

Well, it probably gets tiring, all those lies. It’s not easy to refute a fact and still look honest enough to be president. And Hillary’s poll numbers indicate that she’s done a poor job of maintaining that illusion. So, in a way, her guarded approach to the media is understandable. If you’re a crook, you don’t hang out at the police station.

Unfortunately for her, this strategy is bound to backfire. Trump’s success can’t be pinpointed to any one thing, but it is partly owed to his candor. After years of listening to politicians who never stray from their rehearsed lines, it’s refreshing to have a presidential candidate willing to speak off the cuff. Trump’s frankness has gotten him in trouble a time or two, but 2016 has proven that Americans are willing to forgive these errors if it means open and honest discourse.

Clinton, on the other hand, brings new meaning to the word “secretive.” And after eight years of this administration, we deserve a president who won’t run from the tough questions.