A Republican political action committee is welcoming Bill Clinton to Iowa with a digital ad that focuses on the baggage the former president brings to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
America Rising, a Virginia-based opposition research group, released a video Saturday showcasing the lukewarm media reception that greeted Bill Clinton’s debut earlier this month as a campaign surrogate for his wife.
The minute-long clip, entitled “The Last Thing They Want,” features a montage of political pundits highlighting the fact that the former president’s presence on the trail has given Hillary Clinton’s opponents an opportunity to revisit the scandals of his past.
“The last thing they want is to have this rehashed,” MSNBC host Chuck Todd says at the opening of the video. “It makes [Hillary Clinton] uncomfortable as a candidate, and when your candidate is uncomfortable, they’re not good candidates.”
In another segment, Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin seemingly defends the legitimacy of the sexual scandals that marred the final years of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
“I think, in some of the most prominent cases, not only were the accusations not disproven, they were confirmed and acknowledged by President Clinton,” Halperin said.
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump opened the floodgates on the discussion of Bill Clinton’s indiscretions by declaring them “fair game” shortly after the former president and head of the Clinton Foundation began stumping for his wife.
Since then, Bill Clinton has dodged reporters’ questions about whether his well-documented infidelities should factor into Hillary Clinton’s primary fight.
“If one thing is clear from Bill Clinton’s return to the campaign trail, it’s that he’s lost a few miles an hour off his fastball,” Jeff Bechdel, spokesman for America Rising, told the Washington Examiner. “In 2016, he’s less a ‘secret weapon’ on the campaign trail and closer to a walking liability. Unfortunately for Team Clinton, all his presence on the campaign trail does is reinforce the negative attributes voters assign to Secretary Clinton: unethical, dishonest, and untrustworthy.”
Bill Clinton is slated to appear at campaign events Saturday for Hillary Clinton in Iowa.
