--- title: Democratic Debate: Hillary Clinton on ‘Establishment’ Label description: "Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me ... as exemplifying the establishment," Clinton said canonical: https://time.com/4208917/hillary-clinton-establishment/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-05T03:10:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:47:29.172Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hillary Clinton on Why She’s Not an 'Establishment' Candidate og:description: "Sen. Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me... as exemplifying the establishment," Clinton said og:url: https://time.com/4208917/hillary-clinton-establishment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte12b4c73c9f6177b/69887c3bcf40a88be1c41d1e/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2615 og:image:height: 1471 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL Hillary Clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton on Why She’s Not an 'Establishment' Candidate twitter:description: "Sen. Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me... as exemplifying the establishment," Clinton said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte12b4c73c9f6177b/69887c3bcf40a88be1c41d1e/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton on Why She’s Not an 'Establishment' Candidate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 5, 2016 3:10 AM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a debate with Senator Bernie Sanders at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016, in Durham, N.H. Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a debate with Senator Bernie Sanders at the University of New Hampshire on Feb. 4, 2016, in Durham, N.H.David Goldman—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 5, 2016 3:10 AM UTC [Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4206675/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-new-hampshire-primary-progressive/) pushed back against [Senator Bernie Sanders’](http://time.com/4208933/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-public-funding-campaign/) repeated claim that she is a part of the establishment at [Thursday night’s Democratic debate](http://time.com/4208461/democratic-debate-progressive-liberal-moderate). Sanders has lobbed the term _establishment_ at Clinton at various points throughout the campaign, intending it as an insult against the backdrop of his grassroots campaign. Clinton, though, said Thursday that her support among former and current politicians and influential leaders doesn’t mean she’s against the people — it means other leaders trust her. “People support me because they know me, they know my life’s work, they have worked with me, many have also worked with Senator Sanders,” Clinton said. “But at the end of the day, they endorse me because they know that I get things done. I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep.” Clinton then slammed Sanders for painting her as the antithesis of what populist voters want. She called his criticisms of her an “artful smear,” saying Sanders is insinuating her political power can be purchased by the highest bidder. Clinton also pulled out the gender card in her rebuttal to Sanders, noting that the fact that she’s running to become the first female President proves that she is not a part of the establishment. “Honestly, Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me, a woman running to be the first woman President, as exemplifying the establishment,” Clinton said. “It’s really quite amusing to me.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4208917/hillary-clinton-establishment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4208917/hillary-clinton-establishment/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton on Why She’s Not an 'Establishment' Candidate","datePublished":"2016-02-05T03:10:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:47:29.172Z","description":"\"Senator Sanders is the only person who I think would characterize me ... as exemplifying the establishment,\" Clinton said","url":"https://time.com/4208917/hillary-clinton-establishment/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","Bernie Sanders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte12b4c73c9f6177b/69887c3bcf40a88be1c41d1e/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte12b4c73c9f6177b/69887c3bcf40a88be1c41d1e/timepol-democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIMEPOL Hillary Clinton","caption":"Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a debate with U.S. Sen. 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