Bill Clinton: Media ‘Liked’ Obama Partly Because of His Race

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama (Credit: CBS and YouTube)

Former President Bill Clinton believes President Barack Obama received more favorable media coverage than other chief executives because political reporters liked having an African-American in the White House.

Clinton made the comment over the weekend in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning about his new political thriller, The President Is Missing, co-written by James Patterson.

“They did treat him [Obama] differently than other Democrats and Republicans,” Clinton said. “It was the political press.”

When CBS correspondent Mo Rocca asked Clinton why he felt that way, the former president said, “I don’t know. They liked him. And they liked having the first African-American president, and he was a good president I think.”

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As for the current president, Clinton said he has a problem with Donald Trump’s tweets bashing reporters, business leaders, political opponents and members of his own cabinet.

“I don’t like all of this,” Clinton said. “I just don’t like embarrassing people. My mother would have whipped me for five days in a row when I was a little boy, if I spent all my time badmouthing people like this.”

The nation’s 42nd president also addressed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s alleged collusion with the Trump campaign.

Clinton believes a Democratic president would have been impeached by now.

“I think if roles were reversed — now it’s me just talking, but based on my experience — if there were a Democratic president and these facts were present, most people I know in Washington believe impeachment hearings would have begun already,” he said.

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Clinton faced impeachment himself in the 1990s.

The Republican-led House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against him, and charged him with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He was acquitted by the Senate.

“Well, I knew it wouldn’t succeed,” he said. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience. 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.”

You can watch the interview below. Clinton’s comments about Obama are at the 6:47 mark.

 

About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411.