Hillary Clinton on Potential 2020 Run: 'Not in My Plans,' but 'Never Say Never'
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this week that running for president again in 2020 is not currently in her plans.
But the former first lady and two-time failed Democratic presidential candidate did not rule out a third White House bid, declaring she will “never say never.”
Clinton is making the media rounds to publicize “The Book of Gutsy Women,” which she co-wrote with her daughter, Chelsea.
Her most recent comments came in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live host Emma Barnett that aired Tuesday.
“Are you going to run again?” Barnett asked Clinton.
“No,” Clinton replied.
But she soon clarified that just because she doesn’t plan on running right now doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind, however slim the chances of that happening are.
“I never say never to anything,” Clinton said.
“I think all the time about what kind of president I would have been and what I would have done differently and what I think it would have meant to our country and the world,” she added.
Later, Clinton pointed out that there are many people who want her to run again.
“As I say, never, never, never say never,” Clinton said. “I will certainly tell you, I’m under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it.”
“But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans,” she told Barnett.
Speculation has raged for months that the 72-year-old Clinton, who lost in the Democratic primary in 2008 to Barack Obama and was defeated in the 2016 general election by now-President Donald Trump, is considering another run.
Last month, The New York Times reported that Clinton would jump into the race only if she thought she would have a real chance at winning.
Moreover, during an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, longtime Clinton adviser Philippe Reines agreed with Carlson’s assertion that Clinton has not “foreclosed the possibility” of running again.
And on Wednesday, Clinton answered a question about running by making a joke about being an “embarrassingly slow” runner.
“So, I don’t know that I’m going to take up competitive running right now,” she said.
You heard it here first:
Not taking up professional running anytime soon.pic.twitter.com/dH2I4ZvMcZ
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 7, 2019
If Clinton is thinking about running, the clock is ticking.
The deadline for primary candidates to file to run in Alabama was Friday, while the deadline for Arkansas is Tuesday.
For now, Clinton said that even if she doesn’t run, she’s not going to stop speaking up about politics.
“There are those who say, ‘Go away, don’t say anything,'” she said Tuesday. “That’s just not going to happen.”
“I feel a sense of responsibility partly because, you know, my name was on the ballot, I got more votes, but ended up losing to the current incumbent in the White House who I think is really undermining our democracy in very fundamental ways,” Clinton said, referring to her 2016 popular vote advantage over Trump.
“And I want to retire him.”
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