Hillary Clinton reportedly wasn't trying to 'close the door' on running with her 2020 comments

published 6 March 2019

Speculation over a possible third presidential run from Hillary Clinton might not be dead after all.

The former secretary of state said in a Monday interview that she is "not running" for president in 2020, which seemed to put any rumors about another White House bid to rest once and for all. But The New York Times' Maggie Haberman now reports that Clinton actually "wasn't trying to be emphatic and close the door on running" and "was surprised by how definitively it played."

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While Clinton has made similar statements in the past, some of her allies in recent months have floated the idea that she'll run again, and the Times reported last month that she "has given the impression that she harbors a faint hope she could still become president one day" and that "in private conversations, she occasionally muses about an opening." Her saying "I'm not running" sure made it sound like that's not the case, but The Washington Post's Aaron Blake notes that statements like that are "often in the present tense for a reason."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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