Bill Clinton declined Wednesday to comment on the fact that he sat in the same audience this weekend with multiple women who have accused him of sexual assault, and would only say that he was proud of how Hillary Clinton carried herself in the second presidential debate.
The former president was asked specifically by ABC News to comment on a pre-debate press conference in which four women, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathy Shelton, announced their support for GOP nominee Donald Trump and repeated their charges against the Clintons.
Bill Clinton ignored the charges and focused instead on complimenting his wife’s debate performance.
“I looked at her, and I realized that’s the kind of person you want to be president. Calm, relaxed and focused on other people. That’s what the election ought to be about. I mean, it’s a clear choice. It’s a pretty clear choice,” he said Wednesday during a quick interview in Ames, Iowa. “I thought more about her than I did about him. I’m beyond being moved or surprised, have been for a long time.”
Of the debate itself, Clinton said, “I was proud of my wife. And I felt bad for the citizens who were sitting on the stage who had been told if they came here, they could ask questions about what they really cared about that affect their lives, and very few of them got to. I felt bad for them, but I was proud of her.”
The Democratic nominee’s second run at the White House has been dogged by questions about her husband’s sex scandals from when he was president and governor of Arkansas.
The former president has admitted in the past to engaging in extramarital affairs with multiple women, including former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and former model Gennifer Flowers. He has also been accused of sexually assaulting more than one woman, including Broaddrick and Jones.
