Jeb accuses Hillary of flip-flopping on trade

by David McCabe - 04/22/15 2:06 PM ET

Jeb Bush on Wednesday accused former secretary of State Hillary Clinton of waffling on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

“I haven’t changed in my view even though Hillary Clinton has. It is time to move forward as even recent Democratic presidents have recognized — and Sec. Clinton shouldn’t stand in the way for political gain,” Bush said in a post on the publishing platform Medium.

{mosads}Clinton, who is now running for the White House, has been supportive of the trade agreement in the past, but has more recently hedged on whether she supports the TPP — which is backed by the Obama administration but criticized by progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Asked Tuesday whether she supported the deal, Clinton said any “trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security. We have to do our part in making sure we have the capabilities and the skills to be competitive.”

Bush, who is likely to launch a run for the White House, painted that as a flip-flop.

“These new reservations are conveniently timed. Sec. Clinton wavered on support for trade the last time she ran for president as well,” he said. “It seems Secretary Clinton thinks we have a short memory.”

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who is considering running for president, also appeared to criticize Clinton’s statements on the trade deal Wednesday.

The debate over the TPP has driven a wedge into the Democratic Party — with Warren and President Obama sparring in the media this week.

“I love Elizabeth. We’re allies on a whole host of issues. But she’s wrong on this,” Obama said Tuesday night.

By Wednesday afternoon, Warren was fighting back.

“The Obama Admin says I’m wrong — we shouldn’t worry about TPP. So why can’t the American people read the deal?” she said on Twitter.

Obama has also requested the authority to negotiate trade deals without Congress having the opportunity to amend them.

Tags Hillary Clinton Jeb Bush