Former president Bill Clinton dredged up the painful memory of his wife’s 2016 loss during his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, urging the assembled delegates to avoid the mistakes that led to Donald Trump’s victory and basking in the applause of a crowd that welcomed him back into the party fold after changing cultural tides cast him into the wilderness in the wake of the MeToo movement.
“We’ve seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it couldn’t happen, when people got distracted by phony issues,” Clinton told the crowd. “This is a brutal, tough business.”
“You should never underestimate your adversary, and these people are really good at distracting us, at triggering doubt, at triggering buyers remorse,” he said in a clear dig at Trump.
Clinton took the stage to raucous applause in Chicago, a welcome change for the former president who took flak from prominent members of his own party after defending his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky at the height of the cultural reckoning around sexual misconduct in 2018. Some Democrats at the time said Clinton didn’t represent the future of the party, which has since warmed up to him.
Soon after the details of the Lewinsky affair were relitigated — in part thanks to Trump’s decision to bring four of Clinton’s accusers to a presidential debate against his wife — the former president’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein also came to the fore.
Clinton had been photographed with Epstein on several occasions and had traveled on the disgraced financier’s private jet 26 times, including as president. He was identified as one of Epstein’s associates in a series of court documents released in January, and one of Epstein’s accusers, Johanna Sjoberg, said Epstein told her at one point that “Clinton likes them young,” referring to girls.
Clinton’s dark past was pushed to the side Wednesday night as he delivered a 27-minute speech mocking Trump — the “other guy” — and contrasting him with the Democratic nominee. Harris, he said, is “for the people” while Trump is about “me, myself, and I.”
“Kamala Harris will work to solve our problems, seize our opportunities, ease our fears, and make sure every single American, however they vote, has a chance to chase their dreams,” he added, highlighting her work experience at McDonald’s when she was younger.
Clinton even joked that if Harris becomes president, “she will break my record as the president who has spent the most time at McDonald’s.” During his presidency in the 1990s, Clinton could be seen ordering at the fast-food chain in numerous photos.
Clinton reportedly intended his speech to reflect the burst of enthusiasm that Harris infused into the Democratic Party after she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket last month.
The Clintons were one of the first Democratic figures to endorse Harris for president in July, saying they would “do whatever we can to support her.”
The former president apparently ripped up the original draft of his speech after watching the first night of the convention and started writing “with a more fun, youthful, joyful approach,” a Clinton aide told CNN.
Clinton complimented his wife, Hillary, for delivering a “great speech,” during which she drew attention to Trump’s recent hush-money conviction on the convention’s opening night. Her remarks prompted the audience to chant, “lock him up,” in reference to the 2016 “lock her up” chant popular at Trump rallies.
Other notable speakers on Wednesday included House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), Representative Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and lastly Minnesota governor-turned-running mate Tim Walz to cap off the night. A number of anti-Trump Republicans, such as former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan and former Trump administration national-security official Olivia Troye, also had speaking slots.