The latest memoir of two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was officially released on Tuesday to much acclaim by the liberal media. But on HLN’s S.E. Cupp Unfiltered the conservative host kicked off her show by ridiculing it as Clinton walking the reader through her five stages of grief. And to demonstrate the ridiculousness of the book, her and TV’s Andy Levy performed a dramatic reading for the rest of the panel.
“Hillary holds nothing back in her airing of grievances, except maybe some self-awareness,” Cupp quipped as she led into the first segment. “As a matter of fact, you may say, “What Happened?!” reads like a clinical look into Clinton's five stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance.”
She added that most people prefer to experience their grief in private but Clinton “decided to force millions of American readers to travel her grief spiral with her.”
Complete with a scarf to simulate being Clinton’s therapist, Cupp read from a section she dubbed “denial” where the former secretary of state went on and on about winning the popular vote. “This popular vote thing, you guys, I'm so over it. It's not The Bachelor, where if you're the viewers' favorite but you don't get the final rose you get to be the bachelor next time,” Cupp teased. “The popular vote in this system of government doesn't mean you get anything.”
“Over the next few weeks, I dropped any pretense of good cheer … I knew the proper and respectable thing to do was to keep quiet and take it all with grace, but inside, I was fuming," Levy read as an example of Clinton’s anger.
Cupp joked that maybe if Clinton showed some emotion during the campaign she would have been able to connect with voters better, while conservative radio host Ben Ferguson jabbed saying: “Or just go to Wisconsin.”
For the bargaining stage, Cupp quoted a passage where Clinton desperately wanted to know why she was a hated public figure, even though other Democrats like Joe Biden and John Kerry didn’t experience the same thing. “Let me stop you right there because just like people who ask questions in a letter, you're not really asking,” Cupp explained, joking that if she called Clinton with the answer the call would end.
On top of that, Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham mocked Clinton for sounding like a confused lover. “What this reminds me of over and over again is exes in my past or perhaps myself as a younger person, sending letter after letter like: ‘I need some closure,’” she joked.
Clinton’s grief went to a very disturbing place with the depression stage. After reading a paragraph describing how Hillary and Bill laid in bed holding hands in silence, Cupp expressed what most people could be thinking:
You know, if there was one thing that could make this book more painful to read, it's the image of Hillary Clinton and her philanderer husband lying side by side holding hands in bed. Thanks for that.
“I actually hadn't heard that yet and I'm wincing,” Ham strained to say.
In wrapping up the bit with the final stage of acceptance, Cupp had a suggestion for Clinton: “I know. She finally does get there. I feel like she probably should have ended the book there and put the draft under her bed. This didn't need to be a public consumption experience.”
Transcript below:
HLN
S.E. Cupp Unfiltered
September 12, 2017
7:00:28 PM EasternS.E. CUPP: Hillary Clinton's new book "What happened?!" hit book shelves today. A rare instance of a failed presidential candidate publishing their own postmortem so quickly after their loss. You can call it what you will – defiant, maybe bold. Or 494 pages of self-serving historical revisionism.
Hillary holds nothing back in her airing of grievances, except maybe some self-awareness. As a matter of fact, you may say, “What Happened?!” reads like a clinical look into Clinton's five stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. Usually people go through the stages alone or with the help of medical professionals, but for whatever reason, Hillary Clinton has decided to force millions of American readers to travel her grief spiral with her.
(…)
7:02:04 PM Eastern
CUPP: Well, I have the book. We got it. It's called "What happened?!" Andy, do you feel up for a dramatic reading?
ANDY LEVY: I think if anyone knows anything about me, it's that I'm always up for a dramatic reading.
CUPP: I do know that about you, and so am I. I thought because this is such a sort of cathartic process if you read it, we'll put on our little psychologist -- a little – [Puts on a fancy scarf] make sure the mic is still good. Okay, ready? Good for a dramatic reading. We will start with: Denial.
"Some pundits have also said my campaign was doomed from the start. [Cupp raises her hand] Either because of my weakness as a candidate or because America was caught up in a historic wave of angry tribal populism sweeping the world. Maybe, but don't forget that I won the popular vote by nearly three million! Roughly the same margin by which George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in 2004! It's hard to see how that happened if I'm hopelessly out of step with the American people." That's the definition of denial.
LEVY: Pretty much, yeah.
CUPP: This popular vote thing, you guys, I'm so over it. It's not The Bachelor, where if you're the viewers' favorite but you don't get the final rose you get to be the bachelor next time. The popular vote in this system of government doesn't mean you get anything.
(…)
LEVY: It's not just her. We've seen this -- a bunch of media people doing the same thing, pointing it out over and over again. For the love of all that is holy, stop with the popular vote thing. It's not how we elect a president. And on top of that, it's meaningless because candidates campaign on the fact that that's not how we elect a president. So they campaign to win electoral votes not to win the popular vote.
(…)
CUPP: Next on to in the grieving process, we're on to: Anger.
LEVY: Anger?
CUPP: Yeah.
(…)
LEVY: "Over the next few weeks, I dropped any pretense of good cheer. I was so upset and worried for the country. I knew the proper and respectable thing to do was to keep quiet and take it all with grace, but inside, I was fuming." [Slams the book close] Fuming.
CUPP: Maybe some more of that emotion and passion would have been good during the election. A few more –
BEN FERGUSON: Or just go to Wisconsin.
(…)
CUPP: Next on to: Bargaining. Number three. "Why am as seen as such a divisive figure and, say, Joe Biden and John Kerry aren't? They’ve run for president. They've served in high levels of government. Cast votes of all kind, including some they regret like me. What makes me such a lightning rod for fury? I'm really asking. I'm at a loss."
Let me stop you right there because just like people who ask questions in a letter, you're not really asking. Like if I called Hillary Clinton today –
LEVY: Or saw her at a book signing.
CUPP: And like, I have your reason, I can tell you, she would hang up on me. She's not really asking in this bargaining exercise she's going through.
MARY KATHARINE HAM: What this reminds me of over and over again is exes in my past or perhaps myself as a younger person, sending letter after letter like: “I need some closure.”
(…)
CUPP: Okay, on to depression. "Bill was watching Trump's speech on television. He couldn't believe it. Neither could I. Eventually everyone left, and it was just us. I hadn't cried yet. Wasn't sure if I would, but I felt deeply and thoroughly exhausted, like I hadn't slept in ten years." Same. "We lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Bill took my hand, and we just lay there."
You know, if there was one thing that could make this book more painful to read, it's the image of Hillary Clinton and her philanderer husband lying side by side holding hands in bed. Thanks for that.
HAM: I actually hadn't heard that yet and I'm wincing.
CUPP: Yeah. It's pretty -- it's pretty painful. Again, like I said, if you're tuning in and wondering what the hell we're doing, we are doing a dramatic reading of Hillary's book, aka the five stages of grief. Again, this sounds like something you'd tell your therapist. Not a postmortem of a very complicated election that literally just happened while you're still grappling with what just happened.
FERGUSON: It's entitlement narcissism. She was convinced that she was owed the presidency. She talks about her pantsuit that she had that she didn't get to wear. She didn't have a speech in case she lost. And she bought a house! Who does and buys a house?
(…)
CUPP: The last stage of grief: Acceptance.
LEVY: "Moreover, I have come to terms with the fact that a lot of people -- millions and millions of people -- decided they don't like me. Imagine what that feels like. It hurts, and it's a hard thing to accept. But there's no getting around it." That's her, not me, saying this. I have yet to accept that.
CUPP: I know. She finally does get there. I feel like she probably should have ended the book there and put the draft under her bed. This didn't need to be a public consumption experience.
(…)
