If you’ve noticed Hillary Clinton everywhere again, it’s not because she has launched a comeback tour. It’s because Republicans still just cannot quit her. Despite the fact that she is not mentioned in the “Epstein files,” House Oversight Chair James Comer has subpoenaed her to testify today. (Her husband, Bill Clinton, will testify tomorrow.) It seems Republicans believe that Clinton can provide a distraction—or at least a new punching bag—in the scandal that has dogged the Trump administration for months.
They will surely use the closed-door deposition to rehash and revive as much Hillary hate as they can, regurgitating the greatest hits from 2016 and beyond. And they’ll certainly air all their attack lines publicly right afterwards.
Still, in forcing Clinton back into the spotlight, Republicans may have accidentally handed Democrats a gift.
Clinton has largely kept a disciplined distance from the churn of politics since her presidential run a decade ago (aside from carefully curated moments, like her speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention). Though supportive of a variety of organizing efforts through her Onward Together initiative, she did not try to become a resistance mascot. She has not inserted herself into every Trump controversy.
Yet following this Epstein testimony stunt, and after being denied a public hearing, Clinton has suddenly decided to engage on a range of issues—and in a high-visibility capacity. She has recently appeared at high-profile conferences, penned op-eds, and given major interviews to the BBC and others. And in reappearing on the national stage in a robust way, the former presidential nominee could become a much-needed voice of reason for the Democratic Party.
In their fixation with Clinton, Republicans have reintroduced into the national conversation a Democrat now uniquely equipped to say what many in her party are afraid to. Right now, Democrats are struggling with a question they rarely confront directly: how to balance moral clarity with electoral reality. Clinton, who recently confirmed she would not run for president in 2028, can offer a reality check that could stave off the party’s temptation to embrace extreme and unpopular positions at a time when a record number of Americans think it is already leaning too far left.
She has been the subject of more online vitriol than any Democrat of her generation and emerged with something close to indifference toward it. That freedom is rare in modern politics. It is also incredibly powerful.
Republicans thought dragging the former First Lady back into hearings would damage Democrats and protect them. Instead, they have revived a figure who is liberated from ambition and, therefore, unusually, candid.
On so many issues, the loudest online voices often demand maximalism at a moment when much of the country is signaling fatigue with ideological escalation and “purity tests.” But Clinton lives in the real world, not on the internet, and her renewed presence can help tether Democrats to a more pragmatic outlook.
Yes, there will be Democrats who recoil at her return. For some, 2016 is still raw. For others, Clinton represents an establishment era they are eager to transcend. The party faces a volatile electorate, a resurgent Trump, and an information ecosystem that rewards the loudest voices over the wisest. But in this environment, having someone willing to lay out uncomfortable truths is a major asset.
Hillary Clinton is back in the spotlight because Republicans could not resist pulling her there. They have inadvertently platformed one of the Democratic Party’s most battle-tested figures, and she is speaking up once again—not for a campaign, not for validation, but with the clarity that comes from having nothing left to lose.
The post Opinion: Republicans Dragged Hillary Clinton Back Into the Spotlight. They’re Going to Regret It appeared first on The Daily Beast.
