Is Gillibrand Ready To Run?

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand isn’t shy about being a leader in the #MeToo movement— even when that means taking on members of her own party. But what will that mean for her political future? A Glamour exclusive.

- Mira Jacob

It’s one year into Donald J. Trump’s presidency: The talk of Russian collusion is getting louder by the day, politicians on both sides are resigning in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, and the dismantling of everything from the EPA to the State Department has left much of the country with Black Mirror levels of existential dread. Is it any wonder that predicting 2020 presidential contenders has become a national pastime?

Enter Kirsten Gillibrand, the two-term Democratic senator from New York, who has proved a consistent and unflinching foil for Trump. She opposed almost all of his cabinet appointees; she fought his immigration policies; and propelled by the #MeToo movement and her record as an advocate for sexual assault survivors, she demanded his resignation in light of 19 sexual misconduct allegations.

If standing firm against the President has its downside—his infamous tweet from December calling her a “flunky” who “would do anything” for “campaign contributions” comes to mind—it has also given her the opportunity to showcase her talent for taking him on. “You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office,” Gillibrand tweeted back.

But while Democrats can easily cheer on her tit-for-tats with Trump, many found it harder to reconcile her call for the resignation of Senator Al Franken (D–Minn.) over eight allegations of sexual misconduct and her suggestion that former President Bill Clinton should have stepped down after his relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky. Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines called her a hypocrite, while President Barack Obama’s former adviser David Axelrod warned of her “looking craven and opportunistic.”