Carly Fiorina, speaking with FOX News Radio’s Jared Halpern, said she is 90 percent decided to run for president. “We’re getting closer – I’ll make a final decision and a formal announcement probably in the next several weeks,” said Fiorina.
Hillary Clinton has said it might be time for a woman president, but Fiorina said it should be someone who can “do the job.”
In response to Clinton highlighting equal pay and work/life balance in Iowa, Fiorina said, “I think there’s much about Hillary Clinton’s message that is not based on the reality of the economy or the workforce,” adding that Clinton wants to run on the “war on women” platform.
Fiorina said Clinton would have a hard time running on the “war on women” issue if she faced a Republican female such as herself.
“One of the things I would point out to her, having started as a secretary and going on to become the chief executive of the largest technology company in the world, is that the pay system that disadvantages women most is the seniority system.”
She explained the seniority system doesn’t pay on merit or contribution or performance. For example, Fiorina suggested unions support seniority, and when Clinton talks about pay for performance, she doesn’t hit the mark on what women need to address pay disparity.
Fiorina addressed government regulating discrimination in the work place. “This is so much the pot calling the kettle black, I mean for heaven sakes Hillary Clinton doesn’t pay women – by her own standards. by her own math – Hillary Clinton doesn’t pay women in her office in a way that would meet her standards,” said Fiorina.
She suggested government ought to clean up its own act first before it tells businesses how to handle theirs.
Fiorina said Clinton purposefully misled America on the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans and on her personal email use. Fiorina noted this deception shows Clinton isn’t fit for the position of Commander in Chief.
“Everything about me is different,” Fiorina said when comparing herself to not just Clinton, but to presidential contenders within her own party.
Fiorina highlighted that she hasn’t spent her entire life in politics and isn’t a career politician, as she suggested were contenders like Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
“I am a real conservative,” she stated. Fiorina noted that’s not just about a strong national defense and a moral code; it’s about recognizing that government is so powerful, so big, so corrupt and complex, it has crushed the potential of this nation – stressing it’s time to reduce the size of government.
Halpern asked Fiorina to discuss immigration. “We have to secure the border,” she said, adding that it hasn’t been secured under Republicans or Democrats for years.
Fiorina explained that when political leaders don’t do the basics that government should do, like securing the border, people lose trust. She added that it’s also important to fix the legal immigration policy, suggesting the 16 different types of visa programs have become a mess and need to be fixed.
Fiorina also took time to jab President Obama on foreign policy, suggesting that he has continued to reward bad behavior in his nuclear negotiations with Iran and by removing Cuba from the terror watch list. She said Cuba hasn’t done anything to deserve this, adding that oppression and suppression have gotten worse.