Young voter tells Clinton: 'My friends think you’re dishonest'

Young voter tells Clinton: 'My friends think you’re dishonest'
By Jonathan Easley - 01-25-16 23:00 PM EST

Hillary Clinton was confronted at the Democratic forum Monday night by a young man who informed her that his friends don’t find her trustworthy.

At the forum in Iowa, in which all three candidates separately fielded questions from voters in the state, one participant stood and told Clinton that he doesn’t see the same enthusiasm from young people for her that he sees for her main rival, Bernie Sanders.

“In fact, I’ve heard quite a few people my age that think you’re dishonest,” said the questioner, Taylor Gipple.

Clinton noted that she has a strong cohort of high school students enthusiastically working on her behalf, but said she’s not surprised to hear that because she’s been under attack from Republicans for so long.

“If you’re new to politics, if it’s the first time you’ve really paid attention, you go ‘oh my gosh, look at all of this’ and say, ‘why are they throwing all of that at her’?,” the former first lady responded. “I’ll tell you why — because I’ve been on the front lines of change and progress since I was your age. I’ve been fighting for kids and women and the people left out and left behind to help them make the most of their lives.”

Clinton also said that she’s happy to see young people engaged on the Democratic side no matter who they’re supporting.

“I’m totally happy to see young people involved in any way,” the former secretary of State said. “That’s what we want — a good primary to pick a nominee and then everybody to join together to make sure we win.”

Polling shows that Sanders, a Vermont senator, far outpaces Clinton with voters under 50, while she does far better among older voters.