Hillary Clinton and Stephen Colbert discuss binge-watching TV, bank reform, and Trump vs. Carson

Hillary Clinton and Stephen Colbert had a lively interview on Late Show

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 28 October 2015

Hillary Clinton spent her 68th birthday on Monday much like you might wish to — sleeping in late, lazing around, binge-watching House of Cards with Bill Clinton, she told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday's Late Show. But Clinton didn't only discuss TV during her first interview with Colbert — though she did mention she's a little jealous Madeleine Albright got a cameo on Madame Secretary and she hasn't. They mostly talked politics and running for president, which Clinton said is actually a fun experience sometimes.

Clinton came from a politically mixed house, and she started out in college as a Republican, taking her father's side, she said. That didn't last long, and she is definitely running for president as a Democrat. "I'm not running for my husband's third term, I'm not running for Obama's third term, I'm running for my first term," she said, "but I'm going to do what works, and we have an understanding of what works." What works aren't Republican policies, she added. When President Obama took office, "look at the mess he inherited," she said. "I love it when you have Republicans on here, and they act like we all have amnesia." Bill Clinton left office with a budget surplus and 23 million new jobs, but Obama inherited the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, she said, not explicitly mentioning George W. Bush.

If there is another financial meltdown under a President Hillary Clinton, the U.S. would let the banks fail this time, Clinton said. And if the banks are too big to fail, they may have to be broken up. The audience cheered. "That's a cheap trick, saying things people like," Colbert quipped. But Clinton declined to say whether she would prefer to face Donald Trump or Ben Carson in the general election. "I'm going to leave that to the Republicans," she said. Colbert asked if she could see either one of them in the Oval Office, and she paused a second. "Well, I can picture them in some office," she deadpanned, to a big laugh from the sympathetic audience. You can watch the entire interview below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.