Senator Amy Klobuchar on Wednesday rejected the notion that a woman cannot beat President Trump in 2020, arguing instead that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does as much every day.
Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and presidential candidate, highlighted the struggles facing women who run for office and said a successful candidate will be the one who is the smartest, most competent, and accomplished.
“I govern both with my head and my heart, and if you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day,” Klobuchar said during the fifth Democratic presidential debate, which was hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post.
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Klobuchar was also pressed by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell about comments she made earlier this month about South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, in which she said a female candidate with a resume similar to Buttigieg’s would not have made the debate stage.
“Women are held to a higher standard otherwise we could play a game called name your favorite woman president,” she said, adding that any woman watching at home “knows exactly what I mean.”
Buttigieg, a Harvard graduate who served with the Navy Reserve in Afghanistan, has not held statewide office but has emerged as a leading candidate among the expansive Democratic field.
Klobuchar acknowledged Buttigieg has the qualifications to be on the debate stage, but said women “have to work harder, and that’s a fact.”
Klobuchar touted her record as a politician, noting she has repeatedly won Republican-leaning districts and passed over 100 bills during her time in the U.S. Senate.
She also joked that during her first Senate campaign, she “raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends and I’d like to point out it is not an expanding base.”
