This is from Politico:
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, longtime best friend to the Clintons, said Tuesday that he believes Hillary Clinton will support the TPP trade deal if elected president, with some tweaks.
“I worry that if we don’t do TPP, at some point China’s going to break the rules -- but Hillary understands this,” he said in an interview after his speech on the main stage at the Democratic National Convention. “Once the election’s over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy.”
Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: “Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed.”
Later, McAuliffe’s spokesman sought to clarify the governor’s remarks after this story published, saying he was simply expressing what he wants Clinton to do if she is elected president. “While Governor McAuliffe is a supporter of the TPP, he has no expectation Secretary Clinton would change her position on the legislation and she has never told him anything to that effect.”
A top Clinton campaign official said the Democratic nominee never told McAuliffe she would be open to changing her position on TPP -- and campaign chairman John Podesta confirmed to POLITICO she never said anything like that to her longtime ally. “Love Gov. McAuliffe, but he got this one flat wrong,” Podesta tweeted. “Hillary opposes TPP BEFORE and AFTER the election. Period. Full stop.”
For what it's worth, here's my suggestion for Hillary Clinton. Explain exactly what you don't like about the TPP (I'm guessing it involves labor protections that are too weak, IP protections that are too strong, ISDS, and the lack of enforceable currency provisions), and how you would improve these aspects of the TPP (or what alternative trade initiatives you would undertake). That would put pressure on Trump to say something substantive on trade, instead of just ignoring questions about what changes he would make to trade agreements.
The counterargument I've heard is that any proposal she makes will be criticized, and everyone is better off politically by simply opposing existing trade deals and negotiations, rather than offering changes or alternatives. However, I don't think the trade debate is going very well for her, and I don't see it getting any better if she keeps doing what she is doing.
By the way, if you're looking for a free trade candidate, you'll have to turn to the Libertarians:
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee, says for proponents of free trade, there’s only one game in town this year.
“We’re the only free trade ticket in the race,” Mr. Weld told The Washington Times on Wednesday near the site of the Democratic National Convention.
