Former secretary of state says women must help each other, while people are talking about a ‘revolution’ led by the first female US president

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright introduced Hillary Clinton at an event in New Hampshire on Saturday, telling the crowd and voters in general: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!”

In polling, Clinton trails the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire by an average of around 17 points. She leads him nationally by 15 to 20 points. In this week’s Iowa caucuses, which Clinton won narrowly, the former secretary of state led Sanders among women by 53% to 42% but lost out among younger voters.

Both campaigns were in New Hampshire on Saturday, ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Introducing Clinton in Concord, Albright said: “When she was secretary of state, she restored America’s reputation.

“Those other people before made huge mistakes. They really undermined our reputation and our position in the world, and Hillary Clinton brought us back, she restored our position in the world.

Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) Fwiw, Madeleine Albright has been using that "special place in hell" line for many years, it's not unique to Hillary Clinton.

“People are talking about revolution. What kind of a revolution would it be to have the first woman president of the United States?”

That was met with a chant of “Madam President! Madam President!”

“Not only that,” said Albright. “But she’s just the best!”

'Hillary, can you excite us?': the trouble with Clinton and young women | Jill Abramson Read more

Albright was the first woman to be secretary of state and served during the presidency of Clinton’s husband, Bill. She closed her New Hampshire speech with an allusion to the ongoing struggle with Republicans over abortion rights.

“Young women have to support Hillary Clinton. The story is not over!” she said. “They’re going to want to push us back. Appointments to the supreme court make all the difference.

“It’s not done and you have to help. Hillary Clinton will always be there for you. And just remember, there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.”

Albright has recited the line for years, and the line drew a great cheer from the Concord crowd. but it may not play as well retrospectively, with a glance back of just six days, when Bernie Sanders overwhelmingly won young voters in Iowa – by a margin of six-to-one, including young women.