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In-Depth Interview: Feminist Scholar Prof. Susan Bordo Explains Why She Thinks Hillary Lost

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In a lively, respectful exchange, Susan Bordo and PBC talk about a range of factors that led to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat; on some things, we agree.Bordo’s new book is The Destruction of Hillary Clinton; she’s a respected professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of Kentucky.

In this hour-plus discussion, we start with areas of agreement: that sexism and misogyny played roles in Clinton’s loss (though she would not estimate the extent); that former FBI director James Comey interfered, and that rampant media malpractice was evident to most people.

We disagree about the role of the State Dept. email scandal, and Bordo’s dismissive view of it.  Her credibility on it is undermined by her admission that she’s never heard of Jason Leopold, the reporter whose lawsuits forced release of all the emails before the election.

Bordo surprised me on Libya: we agree that Benghazi was used as a political weapon against Clinton, but she also agrees that Clinton’s advocacy for invading Libya was a mistake.  She also surprised me by saying that she was unaware of GOP voter suppression schemes aimed at preventing Dems to vote until after she finished her book, earlier this year.

Overall, Bordo struck me as similar to many die-hard Hillary supporters: their expectations and sense of entitlement–coupled with the view that Trump could not possibly win–leave them in denial at her loss, searching for ways to explain it without admitting that she was a weak candidate and an establishment figure running in a “change” election.