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Caitlyn Meets Hillary On 'I Am Cait'

by Andi O'Rourke

In what made for interesting television for a first-time viewer, Hillary Clinton met Caitlyn Jenner on Sunday's episode of I Am Cait. It surprisingly wasn't the most awkward moment in the world, but it came pretty close. Jenner and Clinton ran into each other following the second Democratic debate in Des Moines on Nov. 14, but viewers got an earful of Jenner's conservative political leanings before the encounter occurred.

"Coming out as trans was nothing until I came out as Republican," Jenner said, before commenting on the need to reform the tax code. But not everyone in her entourage was convinced that Jenner fully understood the contradictions that some people see in her political outlook. "I don't think that people want to hear about Caitlyn being a Republican," Candis Cayne said in a standalone interview on the show.

Jenner is unapologetic about her political leanings throughout the episode, wondering out loud how Clinton will be able to afford "all the free stuff," adding that Sen. Bernie Sanders "just like Obama, he doesn't really appreciate this country," and sitting on the Republican side of the aisle during the Democratic debate. Jenner also admitted to not understanding climate change or that she believed that it was an issue.

After the debate was over, Jenner and her entourage met Clinton in a lobby at a Des Moines hotel for photos and a quick word. Clinton expressed surprise upon running into Jenner and asked if they were there to watch the debate. Jenner then talked about her advocacy for trans rights with the former secretary of state, who replied, "I have to tell you that what's happening around the world deserves your attention. Anything you can do to help."

This episode comes on the heels of Jenner's controversial interview with The Advocate's Dawn Ennis published earlier this month. Notably in the interview, Jenner only discussed Republican candidates by name and said that she loved the idea of serving as an ambassador from the trans community to a Cruz administration. "Wouldn't it be great, let's say [Ted Cruz] goes on to be president, and I have all my girls on a trans issues board to advise him on making decisions when it comes to trans issues. Isn't that a good idea?" According to Ennis, "she wasn't joking."

Recently, Jenner walked back her statement on Cruz, saying that she didn't endorse him or Trump for that matter. It remains to be seen if Jenner's political views will change with her transition.