Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told an audience in New Zealand Monday that she gave “some thought” to permanently leaving the United States and settling in that country after Donald Trump scored his upset victory over her in 2016.

“I want to thank some of you for sending good wishes a very long way during my campaign and the months that followed. I received a number of invitations from Kiwis to permanently relocate here,” Clinton tells the Auckland, New Zealand audience in a video posted by an organ of the Republican National Committee.

“I must say, I really did appreciate the offers, and gave them some thought,” Clinton follows up over the audience’s laughter.

The remarks came as part of a speaking engagement with Growth Faculty, an Australian business group that bills itself as “a leading education provider that gives you access to the world’s greatest business minds.” Previous high-profile speakers include President Barack Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett and left-wing Hollywood superstar George Clooney.

Hillary’s speech was preceded by a meeting with New Zealand’s left-wing feminist prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, who won her office last September – despite coming second in the popular vote – by allying with the Populist-nationalist New Zealand First” party. The anti-open borders New Zealand First’s leader, Winston Peters, has spoken positively of President Trump and his agenda, and is often compared to him by the Left in New Zealand and the United States.

“When she won I was thrilled because, after [the U.S. election], to see a young woman become Prime Minister was such a shot of optimism,” Clinton told New Zealand’s Stuff news site about Arden, again blaming her own loss, in part, on Americans’ “sexism and misogyny.”



“I was surprised at the level of ingrained sexism and misogyny in people’s reactions and the coverage of the campaign. And the more I thought about it and studied about it, the more I realised was a factor,” Clinton told Stuff, as she promoted her book, What Happened? which documents this and other theories as to why she lost to Donald Trump.

New Zealand is known as a country in which it is relatively easy for wealthy Americans to attain legal residency. As such, after the 2016 election, it was one of the most frequently cited destinations for disaffected Hillary supporters upset enough by the 2016 election result to depart their country. As for Clinton herself moving to New Zealand, she told the Growth Faculty crowd she ultimately decided against it. “I’m going to stay put, because we have work to do in my country as well,” she said.