With his interview with NBC News in Nairobi over the weekend, Bill Clinton has now done more news interviews than Hillary Clinton since she announced her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination three weeks ago.
As noted last week, Clinton has gone the longest in presidential campaign history in avoiding the national media to kick off a campaign. The previous record was held by former President George W. Bush, who granted his first interview four days after his 1999 announcement. (RELATED: Desperate Media Gaggle Chase Down Hillary’s ‘Scooby Van’ Like Beatles Fans)
Clinton spoke to NBC’s Cynthia McFadden over the weekend, pushing back on criticism of donations accepted by the Clinton Foundation and his own speaking fees, which he said he will continue to rake in during the former secretary of state’s campaign.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we have never done anything knowingly inappropriate in terms of taking money to influence any kind of American government policy,” Clinton said.
“I gotta pay our bills,” the former president said of the paid speeches. “I spend a couple of hours a day just doing the research. People like to hear me speak.”
“We do our best to vet them,” Clinton said of groups that invite him to speak. “And I have turned down a lot of them. If I think there’s something wrong with it, I don’t take it.”
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