Ed Rendell has a unique view on the Democrats’ July gathering in Philadelphia. Although the former Democratic National Committee chairman, Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor has largely left electoral politics, the party veteran plans on being very involved with this year’s convention and working to unify his party.
During an extensive interview with the Washington Examiner, Rendell explained how Hillary Clinton has evolved as a candidate, how Democrats should combat Donald Trump, the best way to ensure Pennsylvania turns blue in November and why America is still a “nation of wusses.”
Washington Examiner: You were one of Hillary Clinton’s staunchest supporters back in 2008, and you were close to President Bill Clinton when you led the DNC under his presidency. How do you think she has evolved as a candidate since then?
Rendell: Well I think everybody gets better the longer they do it. Hillary is a sensational candidate in small groups and town halls where she is answering questions. The breadth and scope of her knowledge, her intelligence, her perception, all shine through in those formats.
But, in making a speech that she reads off a teleprompter — she’s not Barack Obama. She never will be. She’s no Bill Clinton. She never will be. That’s not her strength, but the night before the PA primary there were town meetings with Bernie [Sanders] and Hillary. Bernie did well, but Hillary was absolutely breathtaking in that meeting: the honesty of her answers, the breadth of knowledge, but most of all the self-deprecating humor.
She’s also done extremely well in the most of the debates. She’s beat Bernie most of the time, and going in to the general election, she’ll beat Donald Trump most of the time. Even in 2008, she won most of the debates with then-Sen. Obama. He’s even said that.
Examiner: Sometimes Trump has an ability to get under Clinton’s skin and sometimes she can’t help but respond to him. Could this hurt her in general election debates?
Rendell: It would. She’ll be tempted to attack him back. I think during the general election debates she’ll just have to say to herself, “this guy’s a total clown. I’m not going to let him get under my skin and everybody’s going to see [he’s a clown].” She’ll need to be disciplined about it.
Examiner: Clinton has dealt with a lot of political scandal during this election cycle, most of which she was able to avoid or deflect by comparing her actions with whatever Donald Trump was doing that day. Do you think he has made this election smoother sailing for her?
Rendell: No question about it. But, you know, that remains to be seen if that will hold through July, August, September, October. It’s possible Trump could put on a more disciplined display. He’s going to try and become more controlled and more measured. I don’t think it’s really possible, but he could try. Every time he shifts to being more measured, he says something and then he spontaneously does something completely different.

“Hillary is a sensational candidate in small groups and town halls where she is answering questions. The breadth and scope of her knowledge, her intelligence, her perception, all shine through in those formats,” said Rendell. (AP Photo)
Examiner: Trump has put a lot of resources into your state, especially in the Western areas. This was something Mitt Romney didn’t worry about in 2012, because Obama was so popular in Pennsylvania. Are you worried Pennsylvania Dems are treating voters like a shoo-in and they don’t have their guard up as high as they should regarding Donald Trump?
Rendell: Hillary did very well in the ’08 primary against Obama, she did very well in the ’16 primary against Bernie Sanders, and she’s got a good track record in Pennsylvania. In terms of the white, working class, Reagan-Democrats out west I think Trump’s rhetoric is simple and scapegoating trade will attract some of those Democrats. But for every Democrat who votes for Trump, there will be two suburban Republicans or suburban independents that can’t stand it and vote for Secretary Clinton.
She’s going to do enormously well in the city and the suburbs. In terms of getting the base out, the No. 1 generator of turnout in our base is Barack Obama. And I think he’s going to make that same speech he made in Charlotte, which was shockingly, concurrently incredibly good. I think he’s going to do that over and over again.
To give you an example of Obama’s effect on turnout, we had a judicial election last year, nothing on the ballot except three Supreme Court justices. Everyone was expecting a really low turnout, especially in the African-American, Hispanic areas. We sent out a letter from President Obama and we had a turnout that was almost 17-18 percent higher than the same judicial election two years ago. So his power to generate turnout is enormous and I think you will see him on fire in September and October.
Examiner: This has been a hard-fought election for Hillary Clinton, much more so than many people thought it would be. Bernie Sanders endorsed Clinton just a week and a half before the DNC Convention. Do you think he should have done this sooner?
Rendell: I don’t think it matters. The point is that he endorsed her and he’s doing it before the convention. The big guess is what he does after the convention. At the convention he’ll do the right thing. And after the convention he’ll campaign in enough places in enough spots that he’ll be very effective.
And I’m sure the Republicans will put on a commercial of some of the negative things Sanders has said about the secretary, but the best anecdote to that is having Sanders stand up and give a press conference the next day saying, true I said these things and I meant them. But we’re comparing Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump here. It’s apples to oranges and boom, boom, boom, boom.
On the other side, we have Marco Rubio saying Trump is too unstable to have the nuclear codes. That’s as damning as it gets. In Pennsylvania, we have former Gov. Tom Ridge, probably the most popular Republican politician in Pennsylvania, writing a op-ed piece called “Why I can’t support Donald Trump.”

“[T]he night before the PA primary there were town meetings with Bernie [Sanders] and Hillary. Bernie did well, but Hillary was absolutely breathtaking in that meeting,” said Rendell. (AP Photo)
Examiner: Sanders promised a floor fight if the party platform isn’t progressive enough. Are his party platform representative’s views emblematic of the Democratic Party?
Rendell: Sanders’ push on the [Trans-Pacific Partnership] —yeah, probably not the best idea. Because you’d be asking the delegates to repudiate the president of the United States, and he’s also wildly popular among Democratic voters. So I understand where Sen. Sanders is, and I understand where Secretary Clinton is. I happen to disagree with them both. I supported TPP in letters to senators and congressmen. That being said, I understand why he’s disagreeing with [Obama and Clinton on TPP], but it puts delegates on the spot.
Examiner: What about James Zogsby’s push to include language about ending the “Israeli occupation” of Palestine?
Rendell: I don’t think [Israeli occupation] kind of stuff is going to carry. That stuff won’t even make it on the floor. No, I don’t think Sanders’ people are going to bring the Israel stuff to the floor. They know it’s a dead loss.
Examiner: You’re a member of the old guard of politics. People like Joe Biden, John Boehner, even Bill Clinton to a degree — you’re not afraid to say what’s on your mind. Today candidates today tend to be very scripted and on topic, even Clinton has been criticized for this. Are candidates today too afraid to speak their minds?
Rendell: Yeah, Clinton probably should be more open with the media, but when you consider that for 23 years she’s been badgered by negative stuff in the media, a lot of which wasn’t even close to being correct, it’s understandable she’s been quiet.
I would advise politicians to answer questions truthfully and answer them about what they believe. You may get yourself in trouble every once in a while as I clearly do, but people will respect you and like you because they know you’re telling them the truth, or at least the truth as they see it.
Examiner: Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been under fire lately by many members of your party. As a former DNC chairman, how do you think she should be handling the criticisms and calls for resignation?
Rendell: She should just do her job. She’s been an excellent spokesman. She made mistakes, sure. But I did when I was chair, everybody does. And if Clinton wants a new chair for the campaign that shouldn’t be taken as any denigration of the job Debbie did. But she may not; she may want to stick with Debbie.

“She made mistakes, sure. But I did when I was chair, everybody does,” Rendell said of DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. (AP Photo)
Examiner: Your book is titled A Nation of Wusses. Do you think the momentum behind Trump is a result of frustration over America’s perceived “wussiness?”
Rendell: In my book on page 10, I praise Donald Trump for the things he was saying about China. I don’t think Donald Trump is wrong about everything he says, but I think he’s absolutely not qualified to lead this country and lead the free world. I don’t think we need more bombastic rhetoric. We just need more affirmative action.
We’re still a nation of wusses though. Everyone in Washington knows we need to raise the gas tax, everyone’s afraid. People need to take action.
Examiner: What advice would you give Clinton?
Rendell: Have fun, and just answer the questions.