Carly Fiorina Really Does Not Like Hillary Clinton

In a move that surprised no one who has been paying attention to the 2016 election cycle, on Sunday, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said she'll likely run for president — a higher than 90 percent chance — The Washington Post reported. Fiorina said on Fox News Sunday that she's qualified to be president because she has a "deep understanding of how the economy actually works." But for Fiorina, the idea of running for president may have an added bonus: It might allow her to finally go head-to-head with Hillary Clinton.

Besides her business background and recent exploration into politics, Fiorina has become well-known for attacking Clinton, including the now-famous and oft-repeated quote from the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. "If Hillary Clinton had to face me on a debate stage, at the very least she would have to have a hitch in her swing," Fiorina said (meaning Clinton would have to slow her roll).

Fiorina has some limited political experience and is known for being tough. A breast cancer survivor, she was an adviser to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and she ran her own unsuccessful campaign to unseat California Sen. Barbara Boxer. But while it's no surprise that a GOP candidate would go after the other party's presumed nominee, Fiorina's vitriol toward Clinton has some history that predates her Sunday appearance. For instance, Fiorina suggested in March that the name of Clinton's book Hard Choices ripped off Fiorina's 2006 memoir, Tough Choices, reported The New York Times.

Fiorina left HP in 2005, after the company's stock plunged following a merger with Compaq for which she was responsible. Despite the resulting layoffs of thousands of HP employees, Fiorina herself received $21 million in severance, according to the Times. But in January, Fiorina told an audience in Iowa that her experience is superior to Clinton's, according to Time.

Like Hillary Clinton, I too have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe. But unlike her, I've actually accomplished something. You see, Mrs. Clinton, flying is not an accomplishment; it is an activity.

At the CPAC event last month, Fiorina mocked Clinton's use of Twitter. But Fiorina has used her own Twitter account to consistently fire talking points from her speeches at Clinton. It's likely she's tightening up a stump speech that would rally any anti-Clinton crowd. Fiorina said about Clinton:

She tweets about women’s rights in this country and takes money from governments that deny women the most basic human rights.

Regarding the email scandal that Clinton recently faced, Fiorina said it was an example that showed Clinton didn't know how to lead. According to Bloomberg, Fiorina has been using this particular line a lot lately. She said:

Hillary Clinton clearly doesn't understand that leadership requires transparency.

And, of course, it wouldn't be politics without a discussion about gender. Speaking to a group of conservative women in Iowa earlier this month, Fiorina said Clinton is not criticized because she is a woman. Fiorina said:

She will play that gender card all day long.

Clinton has yet to announce whether she's even running for the Democratic nomination in 2016. Fiorina told Fox News Sunday she'll make an announcement about her decision sometime in April or May. There is no timetable for when Clinton might make an announcement about her decision to run. But one thing is fairly certain: If Clinton for some reason doesn't run, it won't be nearly as fun for Carly Fiorina. She'll have to come up with a campaign strategy showing what she's for, rather than repeating zingers about her dislike of Hillary Clinton.

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