Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's all-out embrace of the Trans-Pacific Partnership came about only because "her boss was advocating a trade policy," Sen. Sherrod Brown said Sunday.
In an interview on ABC News' "This Week," the Ohio Democrat — who has been
fiercely critical of TPP in the past — blasted Donald Trump as a "guy that made a lot of money from [outsourcing jobs] is now against this trade policy, but never, ever raised his voice against it when Congress was considering it."
But when host Martha Raddatz noted that Clinton, during her stint as secretary state, demonstrated "all-out advocacy for TPP. How are your voters going to believe that she's changed?"
As "secretary of state, her boss was advocating a trade policy," replied
Brown, who may be among possible vice presidential picks for Clinton.
"It was her boss. She was the secretary of state for the president. Of course she's going to the take those positions."
"But I trust her on this. I've spent a lot of time talking trade with her on the phone, in person, in my state, in Washington," adding he's "staked my reputation" on his trust in her position.
Brown praised Clinton's current position supporting stricter trade deal enforcement.
"Secretary Clinton has proposed a trade prosecutor aimed specifically at China-U.S. trade," he said. "She's proposed tripling the number of trade enforcers. … she understands rules of origin in autos. That's real jobs in [the] auto supply chain in my state. That's … a really important part of TPP that doesn't work for our country. She recognizes that."