Wikileaks emails show Hillary Clinton's staff thought Marco Rubio was the new Obama - and didn't see Donald Trump as a threat at all
PUBLISHED: 00:48 EST, 11 October 2016 | UPDATED: 08:25 EST, 11 October 2016
A new batch of Wikileaks emails highlighting Hillary Clinton's campaign were released last week and show that the first GOP candidate the Democrats saw as a threat wasn't Donald Trump but Marco Rubio.
At 43, the Florida Senator was the youngest Republican in a crowded field of 17 candidates and was seen by Clinton's advisers as similar to Obama, who bested Clinton in 2008 with his calls for a move away from the old guard politicians.
Wikileaks claims the emails come from the hacked account of campaign chairman John Podesta.
Neither Podesta or Clinton have denied their authenticity.
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Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the youngest of the GOP candidates, was seen as the early rival to Clinton - and someone who might best her the way Obama did
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With his messages of change and youth, Clinton staffers noticed he sounded remarkably like Obama in his campaign rhetoric
'It’s interesting to compare/contrast with Obama 08,' a staffer wrote to Podesta, referring to Rubio saying, 'Yesterday is over, and we are never going back' in a campaign speech.
The staffer wondered if the statement was directed at Clinton, and emails bounced back and forth about whether to respond, but in the end they decided to let it lie.
'Don’t see reason to react here,' campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri wrote, according to The Daily Beast.
'Agreed. Let them take it as an attack on Bush,' responded political consultant Mandy Grunwald.
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Clinton staffers zeroed in on Rubio because they thought he would appeal to young voters - something Clinton wasn't doing
But Rubio dropped out of the race March 15, and Donald Trump, the unlikely dark horse, was rising quickly in the polls.
This not only didn't phase the Clinton staffers - many saw a Trump nomination as her best shot winning over young voters.
'Right now I am petrified that Hillary is almost totally dependent on Republicans nominating Trump,' The Hill columnist Brent Budowsky wrote to Podesta. 'he has huge endemic political weaknesses that she would be wise to rectify….even a clown like Ted Cruz would be an even money bet to beat and this scares the hell of out me….'
Little did the staffers know that Clinton would eventually face off against the very opponent they had all hoped for.
Read more: Wikileaks emails show Hillary Clinton's staff didn't see Trump as a threat | Daily Mail Online
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- A new batch of emails were released by Wikileaks from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta last week
- They show that the staff first focused in on Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the biggest threat
- Rubio was seen as 'reasonable' and 'populist' and would appeal to a young voter base
- Staffers noticed he was using messages in his speeches that echoed the ones Obama used to beat Hillary
- The staff hardly took notice of Donald Trump at first - but eventually came to hope he would get the nomination, fearing Rubio would be harder to beat
PUBLISHED: 00:48 EST, 11 October 2016 | UPDATED: 08:25 EST, 11 October 2016
A new batch of Wikileaks emails highlighting Hillary Clinton's campaign were released last week and show that the first GOP candidate the Democrats saw as a threat wasn't Donald Trump but Marco Rubio.
At 43, the Florida Senator was the youngest Republican in a crowded field of 17 candidates and was seen by Clinton's advisers as similar to Obama, who bested Clinton in 2008 with his calls for a move away from the old guard politicians.
Wikileaks claims the emails come from the hacked account of campaign chairman John Podesta.
Neither Podesta or Clinton have denied their authenticity.
Scroll down for video
+5
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the youngest of the GOP candidates, was seen as the early rival to Clinton - and someone who might best her the way Obama did
+5
+5
With his messages of change and youth, Clinton staffers noticed he sounded remarkably like Obama in his campaign rhetoric
'It’s interesting to compare/contrast with Obama 08,' a staffer wrote to Podesta, referring to Rubio saying, 'Yesterday is over, and we are never going back' in a campaign speech.
The staffer wondered if the statement was directed at Clinton, and emails bounced back and forth about whether to respond, but in the end they decided to let it lie.
'Don’t see reason to react here,' campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri wrote, according to The Daily Beast.
'Agreed. Let them take it as an attack on Bush,' responded political consultant Mandy Grunwald.
+5
Clinton staffers zeroed in on Rubio because they thought he would appeal to young voters - something Clinton wasn't doing
But Rubio dropped out of the race March 15, and Donald Trump, the unlikely dark horse, was rising quickly in the polls.
This not only didn't phase the Clinton staffers - many saw a Trump nomination as her best shot winning over young voters.
'Right now I am petrified that Hillary is almost totally dependent on Republicans nominating Trump,' The Hill columnist Brent Budowsky wrote to Podesta. '
Little did the staffers know that Clinton would eventually face off against the very opponent they had all hoped for.
Read more: Wikileaks emails show Hillary Clinton's staff didn't see Trump as a threat | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
