Hillary Clinton on Bill Clinton
Hillary Clinton has spoken about her marriage to Bill Clinton, particularly concerning his extramarital affairs, including the one with Monica Lewinsky. She described being devastated by the revelation, noting that her husband initially tried to deny the relationship before admitting the truth.
Following the affair, Hillary Clinton stated that she had to make the difficult personal decision about whether the marriage was worth saving, which involved counseling and facing painful discussions with Bill Clinton. Despite the profound personal hurt, she actively defended him against the impeachment proceedings, understanding the legal standards for high crimes or misdemeanors and believing his actions did not meet that threshold.
Publicly, Hillary Clinton pushed back against critics regarding the affairs, with one instance in 1992 seeing her dismiss Gennifer Flowers as a "failed cabaret singer." Her position involved both managing a serious marital crisis while simultaneously protecting her husband's political standing from what she viewed as partisan attacks by Republican members of Congress during the impeachment era.
Context
Hillary Clinton's views on Bill Clinton are inseparable from her own political career, as they were partners through his governorships and the two terms he served as the 42nd President of the United States. Her reaction to his infidelities, especially the Monica Lewinsky scandal, became a major focus during her own subsequent political campaigns, requiring her to articulate a stance on both the personal betrayal and the ensuing political crisis.
Her response to the scandals—balancing support for Bill Clinton the husband with condemnation of his actions and defense of Bill Clinton the President—established a narrative of resilience and strategic calculation that has followed her career.
Timeline
- Publicly addressed the Gennifer Flowers allegations during the presidential campaign.
- Reflected on the Monica Lewinsky scandal in a documentary, confirming they sought counseling after the revelations.
- Discussed the ongoing nature of their marriage and relationship dynamics approaching their 50th anniversary.
Actions Taken
- Campaign Strategy/Legal SupportAssented to the campaign strategy of hiring private investigator Jack Palladino to investigate the history of Bill Clinton's accusers.
Key Quotes
I knew what the standards of impeachment were. I knew this did not meet it... He shouldn't have done what he did and he shouldn't have tried to hide it, but it was not an impeachable offense.
I was just devastated. I could not believe it. I was so personally just hurt.
I saw the hypocrisy and cruelty of what those Republican members of Congress were doing... I resented that as an American citizen that these hypocrites... were going after uh him because of a a very uh unfortunate uh you know incident in his life.
You've got to believe that Hillary Clinton wanted to protect her husband and thought he was being unfairly charged.
Sources4
Here's how Hillary Clinton responded to Bill's 1990s infidelities
* This is not an exhaustive list of sources.