CNN panel mocks Hillary Clinton's election excuses

A panel on CNN’s "Inside Politics" Thursday poked fun at former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's series of excuses for her November election loss.

Clinton dismissed Wednesday the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server as secretary of state as a “nothing-burger” and blasted The New York Times for covering her email scandal “like it was Pearl Harbor.” She also pointed to former FBI Director James Comey, Russian efforts to influence the election, and even the Democratic National Committee as reasons for her loss.

After playing a clip of Clinton’s comments, CNN anchor John King joked, “What do we make of this — besides the fact that the 2016 campaign will apparently never end?”

Julie Pace, a White House correspondent for The Associated Press, said “there is a desire” to see Clinton “take ownership” for her loss.

The Daily Beast’s Jackie Kucinich echoed Pace’s sentiment, arguing that Clinton is “trying to have it both ways.”

“[Clinton is] saying, ‘I was flawed, it was my fault, but it was also all these other entities’ fault,’” Kucinich said. “It kind of dilutes any sort of the-buck-stops-here statement that she has.”

Kucinich said that Clinton might be “burning bridges” with members of her party with her remarks.

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post argued that it would be more productive for Clinton to take responsibility for her loss before she addresses the problems she thinks the party should fix.

King joked with the panelists again, remarking that “You don’t understand, the Russians cloaked Wisconsin so she couldn’t find it on a map and get there and campaign there.”

Naftali Bendavid of the Wall Street Journal said that it might be better for Democrats as they head into the 2018 and 2020 elections if Clinton would choose to “fade away.”

The panelists weren’t the only ones poking fun at Clinton — CNN’s chyron did as well: