But when an Iowa man broke into her riff with a question about how the country could confront a new wave of hate and fear, her response sounded less like that of a commander in chief than of a soothing self-help guru. “We’ve got to do everything we can to weed out hate and plant love and kindness,” she told a crowd of several hundred.

The lovey-dovey message seems surprising coming from a Washington veteran so battle-hardened that she often cites Eleanor Roosevelt’s mantra about women in public life needing “skin like a rhinoceros.” But as she grapples with Donald Trump’s prominence in the Republican race, she’s embraced a little love and kindness as a near-constant refrain.
In Alabama, she told lawyers celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott that justice means “standing beside love.” In Atlanta, Clinton promised black ministers she’d run on a “love and kindness platform.” After Trump said he’d block Muslims from entering the country, her campaign quickly churned out a new catch phrase: “Love trumps hate.”

Republicans scoff at the idea of Clinton preaching a gospel of love.