Hillary Clinton reportedly wasn't trying to 'close the door' on running with her 2020 comments
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
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."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
