Bill Clinton, who left office in 2001, has a new memoir on life after being president (extended interview)
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Former President Clinton is out with a new memoir today. It's called "Citizen: My Life After The White House," a title taken from his final address to the nation as president.
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BILL CLINTON: I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of president of the United States. But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizen.
FADEL: The book recounts how Clinton has spent the year since doing philanthropic work across the globe, from working with Nelson Mandela to get treatment to people with HIV to helping free two journalists jailed in North Korea. I started by asking him what it was like to go from president of a global superpower back to citizen.
CLINTON: You know, I had to learn how to do a lot of things all over again. And I was determined to keep living in the present and living for the future so that I didn't spend any time wishing I were still president.
FADEL: Now, you're credited with really breathing new life into the Democratic Party in the '90s following the Reagan revolution. What would you say the Democrats need to do to start winning again and winning these voters who feel like they can't make ends meet and life isn't great for them?
CLINTON: I would say two things. I'd say we can't keep asserting that things are great in the economy. In some senses, they are great. But first of all, we're saddled with some cost-of-living challenges, which are not unique to the United States. But it's pretty hard if you're out there in the middle of the country, and you're working hard, and you've got two or three kids, and you have to watch every penny you make.
And secondly, the economic benefits of the current recovery have been widely shared where it has stuck. But it takes a while for people everywhere in the country to feel the benefits. People are not economic engines alone. There's a lot of identity conflicts racing through our society now and through our world. And these culture wars topics still have enormous salience. And we Democrats have to learn to talk to people.
FADEL: Clinton also addresses some of the controversies in his life in this book, including the way he felt the press unfairly treated his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, when she ran for president in 2016 over her handling of official emails.
CLINTON: I believe that it's set out in my book, not because I wanted to relitigate it, but because I wanted to let it go. And I couldn't let it go if nobody ever collected all the facts and put them in one place. So I let it go. I'm in a good humor now (laughter).
FADEL: Do you feel like there are lots of moments like that in the book that you felt like, I need to write this down. I need to talk about this, and I need to let it go?
CLINTON: Oh, well, anything that was about anything negative, I just - if I thought there would (ph) be questions asked. And I would think, well, maybe I'll - not to wait for people to ask questions. Or I don't like to look like I'm hiding. I'll just say what I got to say.
FADEL: I mean, that included one of the most difficult parts of your presidency, where you address the relationship you had with Monica Lewinsky, and you said, I live with it all the time. What did you mean?
CLINTON: I mean, it was a terrible time for my whole family. And I'd like to let it go, but I still had to live with it because other people didn't want it to be dropped and because it was a problem. So I just thought, well, this is a chance to say what I have to say about that. I felt the same way about other issues. I think if I hadn't said anything, my critics would say, well, he didn't say anything about that. But I was afraid all the way along because look how far we are into this conversation and how little we've talked about how I spent the lion's share of my life the last 24 years, working with my foundation, working to - on the aid phone and the - building the Clinton Global Initiative. I mean, I get it.
FADEL: One of the hallmarks of your presidency is you did reach across the aisle, even at times when your party didn't agree with you. And one of the things that President-elect Trump took aim at was the North American Free Trade Agreement, which, you know, some point to as the reason for the widening inequities that the U.S. is in today over the trade barriers and reduced tariffs. I mean, what brought the U.S. to this place of this deep, deep distrust and this anger over jobs going abroad and feeling like unions are not respected?
CLINTON: It's easy to say that NAFTA was wrong. But the truth is, if you look at the agreement we've got today, it's just basically an updated version of NAFTA that we...
FADEL: The one that Trump renegotiated during his presidency.
CLINTON: Yeah, but it was high time. What is the - you know, the - NAFTA was negotiated in the late '90s. And so if you look at what's actually in this deal, they updated it, but it led to - today, who are our biggest trading partners? Canada and Mexico. We still have a high level of hemisphere cooperation, and we can't get an orderly solution to the border without cooperation from Mexico. And I feel what really happened with the trade war was that - this is my opinion anyway - that we quit enforcing the agreements we made as vigorously as I think they should have been enforced. And then we were too optimistic, if you will, about what would happen over the long run with China.
FADEL: This book is laced with moments you reached across the aisle as president and as citizen. Is that bipartisan work still possible today?
CLINTON: If we live in a world where the only political strategy that works is a polarizing, damning, you-don't-count strategy, where the only thing that counts is loyalty - loyalty is another word in current part to total obedience. Don't ask questions. Now it's just a winner take all, pick the blood off the ground. So I keep trying in my limited way as I age and struggle on to make a positive difference. I still am very optimistic. I'll bet you'll be surprised about where we'll be in eight years.
FADEL: The 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton - his book "Citizen: My Life After The White House" is out today. Mr. President, thank you for your time.
CLINTON: Thank you.
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