Former White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer describes the Hillary Clinton email scandal as another “pimple on the ass of progress,” quoting his former colleague at the White House David Axelrod.
“I think this is what David Axelrod referred to as a pimple on the ass of progress,” Pfeiffer explained in an interview with broadcaster Charlie Rose. “Eighteen months from now or 20 months from now, when people go to the polls to vote in the presidential election, I can’t imagine anyone’s going to change their vote because of this.”
In 2013, Axelrod used his pimple/ass phrase on Morning Joe to describe the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal’s effect on Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations. The former Democrat congressman is married to Huma Abedin, one of Clinton’s closest aides.
When asked if he thought that scandal would hurt Hillary Clinton’s 2016 chances, Axelrod replied that “three years from now this will be … a pimple on the ass of progress,” calling it “one of his favorite expressions.”
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who was also on the show, laughed that he had frequently heard Axelrod use the slogan while he was in Obama’s circle.
“If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that, I’d need a corporate tax cut,” he joked, adding that he was surprised to hear Axelrod use it on the air.
But during his interview with Rose, Pfeiffer argued that one of the reasons Hillary Clinton’s email was the focal point of conversation was because “there’s a vacuum in our political discussion right now.”
“Once there’s an up-and-running campaign, this will be a faint memory,” he said confidently.
Pfeiffer also acknowledged during the interview that he didn’t want to say anything bad about Hillary Clinton.
“Look, I worked my tail off to beat her for a year, but I’ve grown very fond of her in her service to the president,” he said.