Hillary Clinton is back in the headlines—and once again, she’s throwing punches at conservative women while claiming to be a champion of feminism. In a bitter and condescending appearance at New York City’s 92nd Street Y on May 1, 2025, the twice-failed presidential candidate took a swing at Republican women, labeling them “handmaidens to the patriarchy.”
That’s right. The woman who built her entire political brand off her husband’s coattails—after standing by him through one humiliating sex scandal after another—is now lecturing women on empowerment. The irony is suffocating.
Clinton’s comment came in response to a softball question from moderator Margaret Hoover, who asked what advice she would give to America’s first female president. Rather than offering encouragement to women across the political spectrum, Clinton took the low road.
“Don’t be a handmaiden to the patriarchy,” she sneered, “which kind of eliminates every woman on the other side of the aisle, except for very few.”
So much for sisterhood.
Clinton went on to lament how hard it is for a woman to reach the presidency—apparently forgetting she was the most politically connected female candidate in American history, buoyed by decades in the public eye, a media that fawned over her every move, and an establishment rigged in her favor. Yet somehow, she still lost. Twice.
Naturally, her remarks sparked outrage—especially from conservative women who are sick and tired of being demeaned and dismissed for daring to hold traditional values or vote Republican.
One scathing response on X (formerly Twitter) captured the sentiment perfectly: “Hillary Clinton telling women not to be a ‘handmaiden to the patriarchy.’ From the same woman that stayed with a serial adulterer husband for 30 years as he smeared her face in his public affairs. All to make sure she had access to power and could launch her own political career. She is quite possibly the most famously humiliated handmaiden in the history of American politics.”
Another user didn’t hold back: “Oh, Hillary, bless her heart, out here slinging shade at Republican women like she’s auditioning for the lead in *Mean Girls: Political Edition*… Maybe instead of lashing out at other women, she could’ve cleaned house, starting with her own marriage.”
The truth is, Clinton’s brand of feminism has always been rooted in elitism and hypocrisy. Empowerment is only valid, in her eyes, if it comes in the form of progressive politics and government power. Women who choose family, faith, and freedom over liberal orthodoxy? They’re written off as backward, brainwashed, or worse.
One woman summed it up succinctly: “My advice: Skip the tips from a two-time loser who bashes women choosing traditional lives and gender roles.”
For someone who claims to champion women, Hillary Clinton sure seems to spend a lot of time tearing them down—so long as they don’t vote for Democrats.
Maybe next time, she should take her own advice and stop playing handmaiden to her own bitter ambitions.
