Hillary Hints At 2016 On 'The Daily Show'

A month into her Hard Choices book tour, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on The Daily Show Tuesday night to discuss the unfolding conflict in the Gaza Strip. But first, host Jon Stewart pulled out a clipboard to help Clinton figure out her future career path. "Do you like commuting to work, or do you like a home office?" Stewart asked. After hearing that Clinton prefers a home office, he followed up with: "Would you like [that office] to have corners, or not to have corners?"

Clinton responded with a hearty laugh and said, "The world is so complicated. The fewer corners that you have, the better." Her response, which referred none-too-subtly to the president's Oval Office, was received with thunderous applause from the audience.

But hold on, there were no "I'm officially running for president" announcements — though Stewart pretty much decided for the former Secretary of State that she had to at this point. After their will-she-or-will-she banter subdued, Stewart turned to a more pressing subject: The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Clinton, who negotiated the ceasefire between Palestine and Israel in November 2012, expanded on her personal experience in the Gaza region. It marks her first public remarks on the conflict since Israel launched its military offensive against Hamas more than a week ago:

[The Palestinian people] are trapped by their leadership, unfortunately. It's a two-pronged trapping. They have leadership that is committed to resistance and violence ... When I negotiated the ceasefire in November of 2012, it was right on the brink with Israel once again invading Gaza because of the rockets … and the Israelis are absolutely right in saying that they can’t just sit there and let rockets rain down. They have a missile defense system, which is working well. ... They have tried with the Palestinian authority to figure out a way to move forward, but the Hamas leadership now feels somewhat trapped themselves.

Clinton added that the Egyptian government — which she previously worked with to negotiate the past ceasefire — now views Hamas as a threat. Hamas had a relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and former Egyptian President Morsi, but the new regime sees Hamas as "a source of instability and violence that can affect them in Sinai and beyond," Hillary said.

"But [the Palestinians] are trapped," Clinton reiterated. "They're trapped by leadership that doesn't want to make the situation too much better."

In addition to chatting about the Israel-Palestine conflict, Clinton shared her views on American idealism and democracy — things, she says, that are lost in this current day of age. According to Clinton, America must return to its "story" of liberating cultures and spreading the ideals of democracy, including in Congress itself, which Clinton admitted is "gridlocked."

"People look to us. Our system has been the beacon for so many years," Clinton said. "American culture permeated the world."

You can watch the full 25-minute interview here.

Images: The Daily Show, Getty Images