'Vogue' sheds a light on the Asian/American woman closest to Hillary Clinton

Julie Valasquez

When Hillary Clinton is in public, Huma Abedin is always nearby.

IF HILLARY CLINTON n is elected President, an Asian/American Muslim will be close by her side.
To most people, she's hardly noticeable. She gets lost in the crowd surrounding Democratic Presidential candidate Clinton.

A more astute observer will notice that she's always around, staying in the background on the periphery of chaos, whispering Clinton's ear, creating a path for the candidate or guiding Clinton through the crowd of journalists or followers reaching out to touch the candidate.

Who is this mystery woman?

A Vogue profile written by Nathan Heller gives us a glimpse of Huma Abedin,  daughter of a Pakistani mother and an Indian father, and Clinton's closest confidant.

“To onlookers, Clinton and Abedin seem to travel the world as a single entity joined by complementary strengths,” Heller wrote. “If Clinton, in her bold suits and impeccable coifs, distills a certain era of feminist empowerment, Abedin, with her breezy downtown dresses and mobile power-dialing, is the professional face of a younger, more wired-in female generation.”

“The nature of our relationship has changed,” Abedin told Vogue. “Over the years, we’ve shared stories about our lives, we’ve shared more meals than I can count, we’ve celebrated together, we’ve mourned together.”

Like Clinton, Abedin has her own baggage she's had to overcome.

She's married to Anthony Weiner, the shamed former congressman who was forced to resign because of his propensity for showing his privates online.

As a devout Muslim, her religion has been put under the microscope in these Islamaphobic times and her loyalties have been questioned by Clinton's detractors. At one point, she has been accused of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Breitbart Media, the ultra conservative news site and whose chief executive Stephen Bannon, is now Donald Trump's CEO, running his campaign with the resignation of Paul Manafort. Breitbart has been beating the alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood drum for years. Clinton, along with some Republican leaders, have denounced the allegations.

Nevertheless, because of Bannon's penchant for conspiracy theories, look for this anti-Muslim fear-mongering angle to put Abedin back in the news again. She'd prefer to stay in the background.

It is said the Vice President is a heartbeat away from the President. If Clinton is successful in her presidential bid, Abedin would be a step away.

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