Reacting to Hillary Clinton’s Sunday interview with CBS News in which she defended her husband Bill Clinton’s mistreatment of women, on Monday, NBC anchor Megyn Kelly and her panel of guests slammed the former First Lady for her hypocrisy and “many lies” in the #MeToo era. Kelly also blasted liberal feminist groups that rushed to former President Clinton’s defense in the 1990s.
After playing a clip of Clinton insisting to reporter Tony Dokoupil on CBS Sunday Morning that Bill’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky was not an “abuse of power,” Kelly pointed out the absurdity: “So, she says it was not an abuse of power for the President of the United States to have an affair with a 22-year-old intern in the White House.”
After correspondent Stephanie Gosk imagined what it would have been like if the former Secretary of State had launched her 2016 presidential campaign by admitting that “Bill Clinton’s a jerk” and “What he did to Monica Lewinsky was wrong,” Kelly interjected: “She’s not capable of that emotion. She’s not!”
Another panelist, former View co-host Jedediah Bila, denounced both Clintons:
This is a guy who was accused of rape and sexual assault by many, many women over the years. And I think it’s outrageous because the media sometimes puts him out there. And now they’re doing a tour, he and Hillary are doing a tour. This is the heat of the #MeToo movement. Bill Clinton’s gonna be out there talking about the #MeToo movement? This is a guy who disgraced the Oval Office, because frankly he did. There was a huge power difference. You can’t tell me that there’s not a power dynamic when you’re dealing with a 22-year-old intern and a sitting President of the United States. For her to not acknowledge that tells me that she also can’t be a spokeswoman out there.
Kelly followed up by detailing how dishonest Hillary Clinton had been in the interview:
Hillary was also asked about whether she, Hillary Clinton, played any role in criticizing the character of the women who had accused him....And Hillary said, “No, none. I had no role. I take responsibility for my life and my actions.” And let me tell you, that, too, is, according to The New York Times, another lie. She was reportedly calling Gennifer Flowers, with whom he did have an affair, “Trailer Trash.” She did refer to her as “some failed cabaret singer with not much of a resume to fall back on.” The New York Times reported that Hillary was the one who green-lit a private investigator to impugn Gennifer Flowers’ character, quote, “until she was destroyed beyond all recognition.” She called Monica Lewinsky a “narcissistic Looney Tunes.” So can you just spare me? Can you spare me?! Spare me.
The in-studio audience applauded and cheered the takedown.
Another guest on the morning show, Matt Iseman, co-host of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, scolded Clinton: “And I mean, that was a time when they coined the phrase ‘the bimbo eruptions,’ where there was victim blaming going on there.”
Gosk lectured those trying to dismiss the discussion: “And also, for those people that say, ‘It was 20 years ago, it was ancient history.’ It matters now. How we handled that matters now, it matters now in that conversation that we’re having.”
Kelly observed: “I think a lot of Democrats are taking another hard look at how they defended Bill.” Bila agreed: “Yes, and you have a lot of Democrats now coming out and saying, ‘We made a mistake. We should have held Bill Clinton to a higher standard.’ Because the National Organization for Women and all these pro-women organizations gave him a pass.”
In reply, Kelly condemned NOW’s partisanship: “The National Organization for Women will only defend you, as a woman, if they think you’re a Democrat. And they will go after you, as a man, if they think you’re a Republican. That’s the truth.”
Iseman hammered Hillary for trying to speak for the #MeToo movement: “For Hillary, in the past year, to say all women should be believed, when 20 years ago, we saw the exact opposite, you have zero credibility there.” Kelly quipped: “Right, unless your name is Paula Jones, Gennifer flowers, Monica Lewinsky.” Iseman continued: “Unless you made that public mea culpa, you can’t just switch that statement. Our memories aren’t that short and clearly we have tape of you saying that.”
Gosk demanded accountability: “If we’re going to hold President Trump accountable, if we’re gonna question him and give him the tough questions, then President Clinton, former President Clinton, needs those same questions. It has to be asked.”
Kelly wrapped up the remarkably critical discussion by again emphasizing Clinton’s dishonesty: “Absolutely right. And don’t lecture us about how dishonest Trump is – which by the way, he doesn’t have an adult relationship with the truth – without being honest about Hillary Clinton, and the many, many lies she told and continues to tell.”
Here is a full transcript of the October 15 segment on Megyn Kelly Today:
9:06 AM ET
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MEGYN KELLY: Do you remember who he [Trump] ran against?
MATT ISEMAN [CO-HOST, AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR]: Vaguely. Vaguely. [Laughter]
KELLY: You remember, he beat Hillary Clinton, right? She also made some news this weekend in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. And she addressed in that interview her husband’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. And then, she was also asked whether she, Hillary, played any role in criticizing the character of the women who accused Bill of sexual misconduct, which went beyond Lewinsky, as you know. Alright, so just watch first what she said about Lewinsky.
TONY DOKOUPIL [CBS SUNDAY MORNING]: Do you think Bill should have resigned in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal?
HILLARY CLINTON: Absolutely not.
DOKOUPIL: It wasn’t an abuse of power?
CLINTON: No. No.
DOKOUPIL: There are people who look at the incidents of the ’90s and they say a President of the United States cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern. The power imbalance is too great.
CLINTON: Who was an adult. But let me ask you this, where’s the investigation of the current incumbent, against whom numerous allegations have been made? And which he dismisses, denies, and ridicules. So there was an investigation. And it, as I believe, came out in the right place.
KELLY: So, she says it was not an abuse of power for the President of the United States to have an affair with a 22-year-old intern in the White House.
STEPHANIE GOSK: I gotta tell you, honestly, I am not a political analyst, I don’t cover politics for NBC News, and I really come at this as any typical voter would. And I think she has a relatability problem, has from the very beginning. And I’ve often asked myself –
JEDEDIAH BILA: You don’t say. [Laughter]
GOSK: Yeah, right? But what would have happened – let’s just imagine what would have happened if Hillary Clinton started her campaign by saying, “I want to go back to Monica Lewinsky and I want to tell you this, Bill Clinton’s a jerk. And you know what? I valued our marriage and I stayed with him. What he did to Monica Lewinsky was wrong.” How would that have changed the landscape for her? I really wonder how much –
KELLY: She’s not capable of that emotion.
GOSK: There are lots of factors that contributed, I’m sure.
KELLY: She’s not!
ISEMAN: I completely agree.
GOSK: But in that moment, like why not just come out and say, you know what? I’ve thought about it again, and it’s a different time.
BILA: Not only that, but everyone remembers he committed perjury. I mean, this is a guy who lied to the American people.
KELLY: That’s why he got impeached.
BILA: That was the reason he got impeached. This is a guy who was accused of rape and sexual assault by many, many women over the years. And I think it’s outrageous because the media sometimes puts him out there. And now they’re doing a tour, he and Hillary are doing a tour. This is the heat of the #MeToo movement. Bill Clinton’s gonna be out there talking about the #MeToo movement? This is a guy who disgraced the Oval Office, because frankly he did. There was a huge power difference. You can’t tell me that there’s not a power dynamic when you’re dealing with a 22-year-old intern and a sitting President of the United States. For her to not acknowledge that tells me that she also can’t be a spokeswoman out there.
KELLY: I don’t have the whole list of Bill Clinton accusers. But in his defense, I don’t know that “many, many” would be accurate. Paula Jones accused him of exposing himself to her. There’s Jaunita Broaddrick, who accused him of rape. Gennifer Flowers had a consensual affair with him, so however you want to characterize that.
But can I just say, before you go, Matt, she was also – Hillary was also asked about whether she, Hillary Clinton, played any role in criticizing the character of the women who had accused him. And keep in mind, he settled with Paula Jones for over $800,000, that lawsuit. And Hillary said, “No, none. I had no role. I take responsibility for my life and my actions.” And let me tell you, that, too, is, according to The New York Times, another lie. She was reportedly calling Gennifer Flowers, with whom he did have an affair, “Trailer Trash.” She did refer to her as “some failed cabaret singer with not much of a resume to fall back on.”
BILA: Terrible, terrible.
KELLY: The New York Times reported that Hillary was the one who green-lit a private investigator to impugn Gennifer Flowers’ character, quote, “until she was destroyed beyond all recognition.” She called Monica Lewinsky a “narcissistic Looney Tunes.” So can you just spare me? Can you spare me?! Spare me. [Applause]
ISEMAN: Well said. And I mean, that was a time when they coined the phrase “the bimbo eruptions,” where there was victim blaming going on there. And the thing, in America – and, Stephanie, to your point – I think this is a country of second chances. And were Hillary to come out and say, “I stood by my man, I did what I had to do, but now I’m saying that was wrong,” I think people would embrace that. Give us a chance to say – throw yourselves on the altar of contrition. [Applause]
GOSK: And also, for those people that say, “It was 20 years ago, it was ancient history.” It matters now. How we handled that matters now, it matters now in that conversation that we’re having.
KELLY: I think a lot of Democrats are taking another hard look at how they defended Bill.
BILA: Yes, and you have a lot of Democrats now coming out and saying, “We made a mistake. We should have held Bill Clinton to a higher standard.” Because the National Organization for Women and all these pro-women organizations gave him a pass.
KELLY: The National Organization for Women will only defend you, as a woman, if they think you’re a Democrat. And they will go after you, as a man, if they think you’re a Republican. That’s the truth. [Applause]
BILA: It’s unfortunate, though.
ISEMAN: For Hillary, in the past year, to say all women should be believed, when 20 years ago, we saw the exact opposite, you have zero credibility there.
KELLY: Right, unless your name is Paula Jones, Gennifer flowers, Monica Lewinsky.
BILA: Unless it affects her life personally.
KELLY: Right!
BILA: Everyone else.
ISEMAN: Unless you made that public mea culpa, you can’t just switch that statement. Our memories aren’t that short and clearly we have tape of you saying that.
KELLY: We’ve got –
GOSK: If we’re going to hold President Trump accountable, if we’re gonna question him and give him the tough questions, then President Clinton, former President Clinton, needs those same questions. It has to be asked.
KELLY: Absolutely right. And don’t lecture us about how dishonest Trump is – which by the way, he doesn’t have an adult relationship with the truth – without being honest about Hillary Clinton, and the many, many lies she told and continues to tell.
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