With John Kerry taking his name out of consideration for 2020 and the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton’s reasons for waiting to announce whether she plans to run again are running out.
Clinton told friends in January that she was not ready to give up her White House dreams, especially when Mueller had not wrapped up his investigation. She then said in March she said was “not running,” but she planned to keep speaking out. “I’m not going anywhere,” Clinton said.
But after her comments were seen as her closing the door on a third presidential run, a source close to Clinton told New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman the former secretary of state did not mean to be definitive in her remarks.
“The person also says she is extremely unlikely to run, but that she remains bothered that she’s expected to close the door on it when, say, John Kerry isn’t. She has told her team she is waiting at least to see the Mueller report,” the source said.
The person also says she is extremely unlikely to run, but that she remains bothered that she’s expected to close the door on it when, say, John Kerry isn’t. She has told her team she is waiting at least to see the Mueller report. 2/2
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 6, 2019
A redacted version of the Mueller report was publicly released in April. Mueller concluded his investigation a month earlier, bringing no new charges, and Attorney General William Barr determined President Trump had not obstructed justice, though Mueller’s report did not exonerate the president.
Clinton suggested weeks later that the 2016 election was “stolen” from her in discussing how she was advising 2020 Democrats.
At this point, however, a Clinton-Trump rematch appears to be a pipe dream.
The Clintons have expressed concern about the number of candidates running. Twenty-three Democratic candidates have announced they are seeking the party’s nomination, the largest field in history. Former President Bill Clinton argued the crowded field makes it harder for a rising star to be noticed.
“The thing that bothers me about having 54 candidates, or however many we’ve got, is someone with rising potential will never hear his or her voice heard,” he said in April.
The former secretary of state warned that the eventual Democratic nominee will need to be able to win both the popular vote and Electoral College, which she was unable to do.
