In 2012, President Obama dubbed Bill Clinton the Secretary of Explaining Stuff, Stephen Colbert reminded Clinton on Tuesday's Late Show, and so he asked the former president to explain three things. First up was why Sen. Bernie Sanders is doing so well in the race against Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton. "There are a lot of people all over the world who are really hacked off, that they think the system is rigged against them and the rich get all the gains," Clinton said, and they see Republicans doing well by rewarding candidates who run to the right so Democrats think "they will be even more effective if they move further to the left."
The other two questions were about Donald Trump, starting with why Clinton thinks Trump is doing so well on the Republican side. "Because he's a master brander, and he's the most interesting character out there," Clinton said. "It may have a short half-life, his campaign — I can't tell yet — but he's a master brander and there is a macho appeal to saying: I'm just sick of nothing happening, I make stuff happen, vote for me." The last question was about the rumor that Clinton called Trump and asked him to run, which would be "pretty smart, man," Colbert joked. Clinton said no, adding: "I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn't do." Watch the interview below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Storm warningFeature The U.S. is headed for an intense hurricane season. Will a shrunken FEMA and NOAA be able to respond?
-
U.S. v. Skrmetti: Did the trans rights movement overreach?Feature The Supreme Court upholds a Tennessee law that bans transgender care for minors, dealing a blow to trans rights
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policiesSpeed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final daySpeed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts moreSpeed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custodySpeed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulingsSpeed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood fundsSpeed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat goneSpeed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
