Jessica Bies

The News Journal

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware, on Tuesday offered no comment on an awkward sing-along and inaccurate comments he made Monday at a campaign event for Hillary Clinton in Wilmington.

During a rally at World Café Live at the Queen on Market Street, Carper offered support for the presidential candidate with a rendition of the Donna Summer classic "She Works Hard For the Money."

"We're going to channel Donna Summer her for a minute, OK? Here we go!" he half-shouted to the crowd of an estimated 700. "This is the audience participation part of the show."

And then, in a sing-songy moment, said: "She works hard for the money. So hard for the money. She works hard for the money, so we'd better treat her right."

The crowd joined in.

"Tomorrow we're going to treat her right tomorrow?" Carper asked the crowd. "She will treat this country right."

Carper, who is a superdelegate in the primary, served with Clinton in the U.S. Senate between 2001 and 2009, when she became secretary of state.

Video of Carper's 10-minute speech spread on social media and was picked up by several media outlets, where commentators pointed out the irony of the song being referenced. Clinton's income and money made from speeches she made to Goldman Sachs and other big firms has been a reoccurring campaign issue with opponent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont.

Carper press secretary Katie Wilson in an email Tuesday said the senator was in session in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and would not be able to discuss the rally before the end of the day.

Carper during the speech Monday also referred to Sanders, who also is a Senate colleague. The senator attested that he has, on occasion, "felt the Bern." He also had the crowd chant "Joe-Bama, Joe-Bama," a reference to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

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Paul Brewer, director at the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication, says Carper's speech isn't likely to have a negative impact on Clinton's campaign.

"In my own professional opinion, he probably doesn't have a future as an R&B singer," Brewer said with a chuckle. More seriously, "It wasn't the candidate herself. It was her surrogate. I don't think it will be really controversial or harmful to her campaign."

Some of Carper's past "antics" have only made people like him even more. In 2012, he hopped up on a table to do several push-ups, not only provoking laughs but dispelling rumors he was in bad health.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Previous versions of this story included other parts of Carper's speech that have been edited out.