PHILADELPHIA — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said on Wednesday that Hillary Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership “will not change,” a day after he predicted Mrs. Clinton would shift on the trade pact after the election.
“You’ve got TPP, which Hillary is against it,” Mr. McAuliffe said at an event hosted by McClatchy on the third day of the Democratic National Convention. “She and I disagree on that … we’re friends, but we don’t always agree.”
“She’s against it, and the president is for it,” he said. “Hillary’s been very clear: She cannot support the TPP in its present form.”
Mr. McAuliffe had told Politico Tuesday he thought Mrs. Clinton would change on the issue after the election. He said she was in support of the deal but wanted to see things fixed.
“She will not change on TPP, but the point is, [could] we get a trade deal that Hillary would negotiate where it’s higher wages, income up, and worker protections and we create more jobs and protect national security — Hillary’d be for that. That’s my point,” he said Wednesday.
“She can’t get there, probably, on TPP, but that doesn’t mean she’s against all trade deals,” he said. “But she doesn’t like TPP. She can’t get comfortable with that.”
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Mrs. Clinton’s campaign quickly tried to contain the fallout from Mr. McAuliffe’s initial comments, saying Tuesday she’ll be against the agreement both before and after the election.
Sen. Bernard Sanders had made opposition to such trade agreements a cornerstone of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
On Wednesday, Mr. McAuliffe downplayed the Clinton campaign’s pushback.
“I’ve said that she doesn’t support it; she wants to see things change. I was very clear on that,” he said. “If you can’t change ’em, she’s not doing it.”
As secretary of state, however, Mrs. Clinton had said in 2012 that the TPP sets the “gold standard” for trade agreements. She later reversed and came out against the agreement last October.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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