Bill Clinton believes Barack Obama got favorable press coverage because he’s black.
“They did treat [Obama] differently than other Democrats and Republicans,” said Clinton, during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “It was the political press.
“I don’t know. They liked him. And they liked having the first African-American president, and he was a good president I think. I don’t agree with President Trump’s assessment of his service,” he added.
Clinton also clapped back against critics in his own party, who threw the former President under the bus as part of the #MeToo movement against sexual assault—most notably former Clinton ally, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) who said Clinton should have resigned over his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
“It wasn’t a pleasant experience,” Clinton said of his 1999 impeachment. “But it was a fight that I was glad to undertake after the elections, when the people had solidly told, by two-thirds or more, the Republicans to stop it. They knew there was nothing impeachable. And so we fought it to the end. And I’m glad.”
Clinton also claimed that Gillibrand was motivated by political reasons to say Clinton should have resigned, just months after being pictured with him at a fundraiser.
“You have to really ignore what the context was,” Clinton added, referencing Gillibrand. “But you know, she’s living in a different context. And she did it for different reasons. So, I — but I just disagree with her.”
Clinton’s interview came as part of a book tour for a new political thriller he wrote with bestselling author James Patterson, called “The President Is Missing.”
