(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Former President Bill Clinton took a veiled swipe at wife Hillary Clinton for her failed 2016 presidential election bid in an interview Sunday following the historic election loss of Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Sunday Morning, Clinton told CBS’s Tracy Smith that he believes the U.S. is close to electing its first female president—but said he thinks she is more likely to be a Republican woman than a Democrat.
“Do you think it’s more to do with party than gender?” Smith asked.
“No,” Clinton responded. “Although I think it would probably be easier for a conservative Republican woman to win.”
SOFT SOAP: On CBS "Sunday Morning," Tracy Smith asked Bill Clinton if America isn't ready for a female president and for Trump, "are all the guardrails off?" pic.twitter.com/9szKbzEFZM
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) November 19, 2024
Earlier in the CBS News reporter’s line of questioning, Clinton said “maybe” Americans are not yet ready for a female president while reflecting on Harris and his wife’s defeat by Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
However, he did say Hillary Clinton could have become president in 2008 if she were the Democrat nominee instead of former President Barack Obama.
“I think in some ways we’ve moved to the right as a reaction to all the turmoil,” he told Smith. “And I think if Hillary had been nominated in 2008, she would’ve walked in, just like Obama did.”
Clinton suggested culture wars made it tougher for both Democrat female candidates to find their footing at the ballot box.
“Well, I think all these cultural battles that we’re fighting make it harder in some ways for a woman to run,” the former president said.
Trump won a decisive 2024 victory over Harris, taking home the popular vote, the Electoral College—including all seven battleground states—and both chambers of Congress.
The Republican president-elect received 312 electoral votes, while Harris got 226 votes.
In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton but won the Electoral College at 306 votes compared to the Democrat woman’s 232 votes.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
