Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC
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
Former President Bill Clinton is getting a chance to speak during the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, although the virtual, pre-recorded address will last less than five minutes and will come well-before the 10 p.m. primetime hour. That's a sign, some observers think, that the Democratic Party is ready to move on from the former leader.
Back in 2012, Clinton stole the show at the DNC with a 48-minute speech that left his allotted time in the dust. Some even credited the speech with making a better case for former President Barack Obama's re-election than Obama himself did. But those days are gone, even though Clinton reportedly remains personally engaged with the current state of politics.
Clinton is 74 now and is reportedly taking great precautions during the coronavirus pandemic because of some health concerns, so lengthy speeches might be out of the question, either way, but Democrats told The New York Times he's simply no longer a focus for a party that has shifted to the left of how he governed between 1993 and 2001. Additionally, the #MeToo movement has brought multiple allegations of harassment and assault against Clinton back to the forefront.
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.
"It's been 25 years since he was president," said Patti Solis Doyle, a former aide to Hillary Clinton and her first campaign in 2008. "He ran much more as a conservative; he governed much more as a conservative. The party now has moved further to the left than it ever has been. I think his time as a politician has passed." Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
