It has been weeks since unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Few politicians have weighed in on Brown’s death and broader issues of police brutality and racial profiling. On the list of those who’ve remained silent on the matter is Hillary Clinton.
The former Secretary of State is, of course, widely considered to be a potential candidate for the presidency in 2016 and currently on a national tour to promote her most recent book Hard Choices. Clinton was signing copies of her book Sunday at a retailer in the Hamptons when BuzzFeed reports journalists asked her questions about ongoing protests in Ferguson in response to Brown’s killing.
Surrounded by a retinue of aides and members of her security detail, Hillary Clinton left a book signing on Sunday afternoon as two reporters asked questions about the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Clinton ignored them, exiting the bookstore through a backdoor.
The event capped off a two-month publicity tour to promote her memoir, Hard Choices. This month, Clinton and her husband have decamped to Amagansett for vacation. She is scheduled to appear at several Democratic Party fundraisers and at a campaign event in Iowa next month, Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry. Read more.
Clinton’s silence raises lots of important questions. As a potential presidential candidate, should she offer a comment? Will not speaking up on the situation in Ferguson potentially hurt her support from Black voters?
For what it’s worth, Al Sharpton called out Clinton last week, suggesting she should speak out on the crisis in Ferguson. “Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton,” he said to the presumptive presidential front runners, “don’t get laryngitis on this issue.”
