When Hillary Clinton made her official 2016 campaign announcement in New York City, adoring Democrats cheered as Bill Clinton stood by her smiling and waving. The former president then made himself scarce.
That’s about to change. Starting with a CNN interview in which he defended his wife’s use of a private email server, Bill Clinton is set to appear nearly every night this week at events for his wife.
First he will raise money in Atlanta and Kansas City. Then he will headline the West Virginia Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Celebration, where he will no doubt tout the Democratic front-runner’s agenda. Once seen as a master campaigner, he has ceded the spotlight to his wife. But as her numbers fall, his help could come in handy.
Bill Clinton claims he is no longer at the top of his game politically. “I’m proud of Hillary,” he told CNN. “I’ll do what I can to help her. But I’m not the best pundit anymore. I don’t have a good feel for this,”
The former secretary of state will need him to recover his old charm. She has been dropping in primary polls as the scandal surrounding her private email server deepens and Bernie Sanders gains momentum among voters. As polls increasingly show that even Democrats don’t trust her, there is speculation Vice President Joe Biden could also get into the 2016 primary, a move that could split the establishment Democratic vote.
Earlier in the summer the Clinton campaign said that Bill would not campaign for Hillary until later in the primaries or maybe not even until the general election, so he could focus on his foundation’s work. With the primaries over five months away, it seems possible that the former president’s early jump into the race is meant to pull his wife out of hot water.
“The first hurdle for Secretary Clinton is wining the nomination, and Bill Clinton is revered as a hero in Democratic circles, so he’s viewed only as an asset,” political strategist Nathan Gonzales told the Washington Examiner. “If someone isn’t voting for her because of his record then they probably weren’t voting for her in the first place.”
“I think the Secretary’s is going to use the campaign in any way she thinks is beneficial,” he added.
In an interview broadcast Monday evening, Hillary Clinton talked about her husband’s possible role in her administration and said it was important to “win the White House back.” The Democrats already hold the White House, though the Clintons don’t.
