CNN: Top 8 takeaways from Hillary Clinton's first big interview

By Eric Bradner, Jul. 7, 2015, CNN

Iowa City, Iowa (CNN)Hillary Clinton was keenly aware of how long she'd gone as a presidential candidate without sitting down for a nationally televised interview.

"Ninety days on Sunday," she told CNN's Brianna Keilar on Tuesday in the first of what will be a series of national interviews.

As Bernie Sanders rises in the polls among liberals and Republicans continue to make Clinton the subject of a barrage of attacks, her answers offered some insight into the Democratic frontrunner's thinking at this stage of the campaign.

Here are eight of Clinton's key statements -- and why they matter for 2016:

1. "This has been a theme that has been used against me and my husband for many, many years."

Three decades in the limelight have meant both Bill and Hillary Clinton have weathered intense scrutiny and criticism. Clinton acknowledged that polls show a majority of Americans don't view her as honest and trustworthy -- but true to her long-standing posture declined to take any responsibility for the sentiment.

The latest round of public incredulity focuses on her use of a private email address while serving as secretary of state, and her family foundation's acceptance of foreign contributions during that tenure.

Clinton sees those as the latest in a long line of unfair attacks from Republicans, rather than legitimate lines of inquiry. And she claims she's not sweating the "trust" problem.

"At the end of the day, I think voters sort it all out," Clinton said.

2. "They're on a spectrum of hostility, which I think it's really regrettable in a nation of immigrants like ours."

It was a direct assault on the entire Republican presidential field -- and Jeb Bush, in particular.

Clinton used a question about Donald Trump's controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants to hammer her GOP opponents, saying that they don't support providing undocumented immigrants with pathways to gaining U.S. citizenship. By painting Bush, Trump and the rest of the Republican field with the same brush, Clinton hopes to hurt the entire party in a general election with Latino voters.

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