Here's how Hillary Clinton responded to Bill's 1990s infidelities


Before Donald Trump suggested that Hillary Clinton had not been "loyal to Bill," the well-telegraphed line of attack regarding Bill Clinton and infidelities was supposed to be about how Hillary Clinton aggressively defended Bill from his female accusers and paramours in the 1990s. On Sunday, The New York Times took a long look at what role Clinton actually played in defending her husband from her accusers, following a similar look back in The Washington Post.
Hillary Clinton did not say too much publicly about Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, and Monica Lewinsky, the three most public sex scandals of Bill Clinton's presidency. She said Flowers has "got lots of problems" on Arsenio Hall in 1992, and in an ABC News interview called her "some failed cabaret singer who doesn't even have much of a résumé to fall back on"; in a private conversation with her late friend Diane Blair, according to Blair's diary, Clinton said she believed Bill had tried to break things off with "narcissistic loony toon" Lewinsky.
Behind the scenes, it's less than clear what role Clinton played, other than that she assented to the Clinton campaign's strategy of hiring private investigator Jack Palladino to dig into the history of Bill's accusers. According to friends, she knew Bill had been unfaithful before but thought he had overcome his infidelity issues by the late 1980s. "You've got to believe that Hillary Clinton wanted to protect her husband and thought he was being unfairly charged," Mickey Kantor, Clinton's 1992 campaign chairman, tells The New York Times. "Does she know more today than she did then? Of course."
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.
Trump and his advocates accuse Clinton of being an "enabler" of her husband's infidelity — an interesting charge, given Trump's own marital history. Hillary Clinton's campaign called the allegations old and well-tread history and released statements from James Lyons, the lawyer to whom Palladino answered, and James Carville, Bill Clinton's top 1992 strategist. Lyons said that Hillary Clinton "was not involved in hiring" Palladino, and Carville said that "Hillary wanted us to defend the governor against attacks," but that "it's just ridiculous to imagine that she was somehow directing our response operation. That was my job, not hers." You can read more at The New York Times and The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Morales seeks re-election defying constitution and criminal charges
Under the Radar Supporters of former president Evo Morales clash with authorities as political and economic turmoil deepens
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein