Highlights
- Donald Trump sought political advice from Bill Clinton before running for president, indicating a close friendship and shared connections.
- Bill Clinton encouraged Trump’s aspirations to play a larger role in the Republican Party and discussed the current political landscape.
- Trump’s presidential run strained his relationship with the Clintons, with Hillary denying their friendship and Bill criticizing Trump’s intelligence and decisions throughout his campaign.
Before running for president against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Donald Trump used to have a close relationship with the Clintons. Given that they both used to live in New York and often ran in the same social circles, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton shared a lot of connections and would often attend the same events. Ultimately, the two became friends when Hillary ran for the Senate. During this time, Trump made some hefty donations to the Clintons’ foundation, as well as to Hillary’s campaign for the Senate.
Moreover, it’s said that Bill Clinton would often give Donald Trump political advice. As it turns out, they even discussed Trump’s aspirations of running for president. Of course, this sparked a lot of rumors. In a recent interview with Stephen Colbert, Bill Clinton revealed whether he played a part in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Donald Trump Asked Bill Clinton For Political Advice Before Running For President
Over their many years as friends, Donald Trump asked Bill Clinton for political advice many times. In May 2015, Trump called Clinton to discuss his aspirations of running for president.
According to several of Trump and Clinton’s associates, the exchange consisted of the former president encouraging Trump’s efforts to play a larger role in the Republican Party, as well as offering his opinion of the current political landscape.
At the time of the call, Trump was making a final decision about whether to run for the presidency. According to the sources, Clinton didn’t urge Trump to run. Instead, the former president wanted to learn more about Trump’s reasoning for running for president.
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Ultimately, Trump decided to run for president as the candidate of the Republican Party. Given his close relationship with the Clintons and the fact that Hillary Clinton had also placed a presidential bid, voters couldn’t help but wonder whether Trump’s run for president was just a big ploy to ensure Hillary won the upcoming election.
Bill Clinton Revealed Whether He’s The Reason Why Donald Trump Decided To Run For President
After it was revealed that Donald Trump had called Bill Clinton to ask for advice before running for president, many began speculating that Trump’s presidential bid was: a) a ploy to ensure Hillary Clinton won the election, or b) a ploy to sabotage the Republican Party. Well, during a 2015 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Clinton finally addressed these rumors.
The former president began by explaining why he thought Trump was gaining so much attention and followers early on in his presidential campaign. “He’s a master brander, and he’s the most interesting character out there, and because he says something that overrides the ideological differences,” Clinton said of Trump.
“You look at the first debate — a lot of those guys were competing for who could be the most politically correct on the answers,” he continued. “Trump says, ‘OK, I’ve supported Democrats. I’ve supported Republicans. Yeah, I used to be friends with Bill Clinton. Who cares? I run things, and I build things, and you need somebody who will go in there and fix it. And if they don’t let me fix it, I’ll just get them out of the way.’”
The One Question Donald Trump Refused To Answer During His Interview With Stephen Colbert
Donald Trump was given the chance to clear up a hot topic at the time, but decided to turn down Stephen Colbert’s Barack Obama question.
After that, Colbert asked him if he’d asked Trump to run for president. Clinton simply laughed and denied these allegations. “No? Because that would be pretty smart, man,” Colbert quipped. “Yeah, I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn’t do like that,” Clinton answered. However, the former POTUS revealed that he’d talk with Trump after he’d announced he was running for president. “I had a very pleasant conversation with him, and it wasn’t about running for office,” Clinton explained. “So I missed the chance.”
Given that Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections, it’s safe to say that Trump’s run for the presidency was not part of an elaborate by Bill Clinton to ensure his wife won the presidency.
Donald Trump’s Presidential Run Ruined His Relationship With Bill Clinton
Despite being friends for so many years, Donald Trump’s presidency completely ruined his relationship with the Clintons. Before the elections, Hillary Clinton made it known that she was never friends with Trump. “We knew each other, obviously, in New York,” she revealed in a 2016 interview. “I knew a lot of people.” However, she was quickly called out, as both Bill and Hillary Clinton would often be photographed alongside Trump at events and even attended the millionaire’s wedding to Melania Trump.
On the other hand, Trump’s presidential run negatively affected his friendship with Bill Clinton. After winning the election, Trump tried to call Clinton “like it was 15 years ago” when the two used to socialize but the former president claims he refused to take the call. During that interview, Clinton also criticized Trump’s intelligence. “He doesn’t know much,” he said. “One thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him.”
In response, Trump tweeted, “Bill Clinton stated that I called him after the election. Wrong, he called me (with a very nice congratulations). He ‘doesn’t know much’ …,” he wrote, adding, “especially how to get people, even with an unlimited budget, out to vote in the vital swing states ( and more). They focused on wrong states.”
However, this feud didn’t end there. Bill Clinton publicly criticized Trump’s intelligence and decisions throughout his presidential run. In 2020, Clinton went as far as describing Trump’s presidency as chaotic. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it’s a storm center,“ Clinton said during his speech for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, referring to the COVID pandemic. “There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes — his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there.”
Source: NewsFinale
