Virginia Gov. and long-time close Bill and Hillary Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe expressed his strong support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact at a function with President Barack Obama Monday.
Obama was taking questions from the National Governors Association when McAuliffe stood and addressed him:
"Trade is critical to grow our economies. So Mr. President, can you give us an update on the [TPP] trade policy, where the legislation is, and most importantly, what can we do to help you push trade with the Congress?"
McAuliffe was Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign co-chairman and
Politico reported in June that he would be playing a prominent, though less public, role in her 2016 run as well.
His support for the TPP pact highlights the delicate situation Clinton faces over the issue as she deals with a Democrat base stridently opposed to the agreement and the insurgency candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has
hammered her on economic justice issues that appeal to that base.
Clinton initially supported the pact but reversed her stance in October, the
Washington Free Beacon notes, telling PBS's Judy Woodruff, "I have said from the very beginning that we had to have a trade agreement that would create good American jobs, raise wages and advance our national security and I still believe that is the high bar we have to meet."
She added: “I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set.”
Many Democratic voters aren't buying it.
The
left-wing website Truth-Out.org expressed that distrust by noting that Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, a staunch TPP advocate, told Bloomberg TV on Jan. 20 that Clinton would change her tune on the pact once she had the nomination sewn up.
"If she were to get nominated, if she were to be elected, I have a hunch that what runs in the family is you get a little practical if you ever get the job," Donohue said.
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