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."
This is according to a source "close with Clinton," who told Haberman it's still "extremely unlikely" that Clinton will run again. But Clinton is reportedly "bothered" that people expect her to definitively rule out another bid and that she's "waiting at least to see the Mueller report" before she does so.
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.
News of Clinton's Monday comments drew widespread attention and even led President Trump to tweet that she will be "sorely missed," with Clinton responding with a quote from Mean Girls: "Why are you so obsessed with me?"
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."
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
