Skip to main content
Skip to main content

Why Do So Many Believe Hillary Clinton Is Inauthentic?

October 30, 2016 College of Arts and Humanities | Communication

Why Do So Many Believe Hillary Clinton Is Inauthentic?

Shawn Parry-Giles breaks down the reasons behind perceptions of Clinton's inauthenticity.

Shawn Parry-Giles and David Kaufer | The Conversation

"In the national spotlight for nearly 25 years, Hillary Clinton remains the candidate voters still struggle to know. Labels like “guarded,” “secretive,” “evasive,” even mysterious have dogged her since she first introduced herself to the American public during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.

"The labels and the charges of inauthenticity always seem to crescendo when she bids for elective office. In 1998, only months after she won the nation’s sympathy as a cheated-on wife and her popularity as first lady soared, that popularity took a dive the moment rumors spread that she planned to pursue a U.S. Senate seat from New York. Earning high marks as a loyal secretary of state to President Obama, her popularity again dipped when she announced her second presidential bid.

"At every turn, when Clinton has tried to break glass ceilings in politics, she is condemned as a political opportunist. What is behind these perceptions of inauthenticity – the perception that she lacks a genuineness of character and is hiding her true self from the American public?

"In this article, we offer four explanations, grounded in our research on her speeches and writings and how the news has covered her for the last 25 years."

Read the full article at The Conversation.

Image credit: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a campaign rally at NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Friday, October 28, 2016. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik via The Nation).