Former President Bill Clinton was surprised when Donald Trump claimed that the world respected the United States more while Trump was president. Clinton made this comment at the Democratic National Convention, where Vice President Kamala Harris was nominated for president after Joe Biden decided not to run again. Trump had been attacking Biden’s age, but now that Harris is the nominee, Trump is the oldest candidate in the race. Clinton even joked that he’s younger than Trump.
Clinton also talked about the importance of working with other countries and criticized Trump for saying that nobody respected America like they did when he was in charge. The crowd laughed when Clinton pointed out that Trump mentioned leaders like North Korea and Russia as proof of respect. Clinton said he’d rather have the respect of countries that genuinely trust the U.S., even if they don’t always agree with it.
“We need, still, to strengthen our alliances,” he said. “I almost croaked in the first debate of this election season when [former] President Trump said nobody respected America anymore like they did when he was president.”
The audience let out a collective chuckle.
“Wait, wait,” Clinton implored the crowd. “And with a straight face! Look, you have to give it to him. He’s a good actor. With a straight face, he cited as evidence of the respect that existed for us when he was there, the president of North Korea and Russia. I’d rather have the people who respect us now. And one of the things, when you send a signal to other countries, you want them to know – whether they agree with you or not – at least that you’re on the level.”
