Hillary Clinton Calls Scott Walker 'Tough Guy'

ByLIZ KREUTZ ABCNews logo
Friday, September 11, 2015

The campaign's kicked into high gear.

While stumping in Wisconsin, Hillary Clinton went directly after the state's Gov. Scott Walker, telling the crowd that the Republican presidential candidate thinks he's "some kind of tough guy on his motorcycle."

"It seems to me, just observing him, that Governor Walker thinks because he busts unions, staves universities, guts public education, demeans women, scapegoats teachers, nurses and firefighters, he is some kind of tough guy on his motorcycle. A real leader," Clinton said Thursday night at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee during her first visit to Walker's home-state as a presidential candidate. "Well that is not leadership folks. Leadership means fighting for the people you represent."

To crowds chanting "Hillary! Hillary!", Clinton then quipped: "It looks like he just get his marching orders from the Koch Brothers and just goes down the list, whatever he tells them to do."

The attack lines against Walker didn't stop there. The democratic presidential candidate also called out the Wisconsin governor for his record on women's health and rights, and questioned what union workers are supposed to do when they have a Governor who "wants to drive you into the ground."

"What happened?" Clinton asked, after saying she's always admired Wisconsin for its "progressive spirit."

Clinton made these remarks at her second "Women for Hillary" event of the day. Earlier Thursday, she attended a rally in Columbus, Ohio where she called out Donald Trump, who she calls the Republicans' "flamboyant frontrunner," for his comments on women.

"There's one particular candidate who just seems to delight in insulting women every chance he gets," Clinton remarked. "I have to say, if he emerges, I would love to debate him."

This swing through Ohio and Wisconsin comes the same day that a new Quinnipiac poll was released showing Clinton essentially tied with democratic opponent Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa.

Clinton did not mention Sanders at either of her events -- instead focusing squarely on the Republicans.

In Wisconsin, Clinton called out the Republican candidates, in general, for not talking about the issues that she believes matter. She specifically mentioned "black lives matter."

"You will not hear the Republicans say anything about mass incarceration," Clinton said, "And you will not hear them say black lives matter."

Following her rally, Scott Walker took to Twitter to respond to Clinton's attacks, posting a series of three tweets -- one in which included a defense of his favorite mode of transportation.

"Hillary Clinton mocking Governor Walker for riding a Harley is quite the elitist comment coming from someone who admits she hasn't driven a car since 1996," Scott Walker spokesperson AshLee Strong said in a statement, too.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.

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