Former President Bill Clinton says the #MeToo movement is overdue. Just don't ask him about Monica Lewinsky.
In an interview with NBC's "Today Show" released Monday, Clinton bristled at questions over whether he should have resigned 20 years ago over his sexual relationship with the White House intern and whether the #MeToo movement has changed his perspective.
In this Monday, May 21, 2018, photo, former President Bill Clinton listens during an interview about a novel he wrote with James Patterson, "The President is Missing," in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
At the same time, the former Democratic president claimed credit for empowering women in his orbit and disputed that he might owe Lewinsky a private apology, insisting his public televised apology was adequate.
Lewinsky wrote in March that their relationship "was not sexual assault" but "constituted a gross abuse of power."
"I dealt with it 20 years ago, plus," said Clinton. "And the American people, two-thirds of them stayed with me. And I've tried to do a good job since then, and with my life and with my work. That's all I have to say."
Clinton is promoting his new fictional thriller, "The President Is Missing," with best-selling author James Patterson.
In clips released from the interview, Clinton was at times both vague and combative in his answers, repeatedly blaming his critics and even the NBC interviewer for "omitting facts" by trying to lump him in with other men who have abused their positions of power to leverage sexual relationships.
Clinton said he was right not to resign. And while he said he supports the #MeToo movement, "I still have questions about some of the decisions which have been made."
Clinton said he doesn't think President Donald Trump has gotten a free pass, but that Trump's alleged exploits haven't "gotten anything like the coverage you would expect." Trump has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual misconduct and was caught on tape bragging about grabbing women's crotches.
On any parallels between the two presidents, Clinton said: "A lot of the facts have been conveniently omitted to make the story work, I think partly because (Trump's supporters) are frustrated that they got all these serious allegations against the current occupant in the Oval Office. And his donors don't seem to care."
On not resigning, Clinton said: "I think I did the right thing. I defended the Constitution."
Patterson joined Clinton for the NBC interview, and seemed equally surprised that Clinton would be asked about the Lewinsky scandal on his book tour. At one point, Patterson noted that other presidents, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, also were suspected of having extramarital affairs and that it was in the past.
"It's 20 years ago. Come on. Let's talk about JFK. Let's talk about, you know, LBJ. Stop it already," Patterson said.
In March, Lewinsky wrote in "Vanity Fair" of Clinton:
"He was my boss. He was the most powerful man on the planet. He was 27 years my senior, with enough life experience to know better. He was, at the time, at the pinnacle of his career, while I was in my first job out of college. (Note to the trolls, both Democratic and Republican: none of the above excuses me for my responsibility for what happened. I meet Regret every day.)"
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution on Thursday that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan and South Korea supported the resolution.
The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of countries.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council the U.S. veto “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties."
Before the vote, U.S. deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people.”
This is the second Palestinian attempt for full membership and it comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. That bid failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
The Palestinians then went to the General Assembly, and by more than a two-thirds majority succeeded in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
The strong support the Palestinians received Thursday reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their statehood but almost certainly the widespread global support for Palestinians caught in the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month.
Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council who introduced the resolution, called Palestine’s admission “a critical step toward rectifying a longstanding injustice" and said that “Peace will come from Palestine’s inclusion, not from its exclusion.”
In explaining the U.S. veto, Wood said there are “unresolved questions” on whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a state. He pointed to Hamas still exerting power and influence in the Gaza Strip, which is a key part of the state envisioned by the Palestinians.
Wood stressed the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace as the only path for both sides to live with security and for Israel to establish relations with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
“The United States is committed to intensifying its engagement with the Palestinians and the rest of the region, not only to address the current crisis in Gaza, but to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and membership in the United Nations,” he said.
Ziad Abu Amr, special representative of the Palestinian president, said adopting the resolution would grant the Palestinian people hope “for a decent life within an independent state.”
He stressed to the Security Council that it wouldn't be an alternative “for serious negotiations that are time-bound to implement the two-state solution” and U.N. resolutions, and to resolve pending issues between Palestinians and Israelis.
“To grant the state of Palestine full membership will be an important pillar to achieve peace in our region, because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its different dimensions now goes beyond the borders of Palestine and Israel and impacts other regions in the Middle East and around the world,” the Palestinian envoy said before the vote.
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been stalled for years, and Israel’s right-wing government is dominated by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the resolution “disconnected to the reality on the ground” and warned that it “will cause only destruction for years to come and harm any chance for future dialogue.”
Six months after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which controlled Gaza, and the killing of 1,200 people in “the most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” he accused the Security Council of seeking “to reward the perpetrators of these atrocities with statehood.”
Israel’s military offensive in response has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and destroyed much of the territory.
Erdan listed the requirements for U.N. membership — accepting the obligations in the U.N. Charter and especially being a “peace-loving” state.
“What a joke,” he said. “Does anyone doubt that the Palestinians failed to meet these criteria? Did anyone hear any Palestinian leader even condemn the massacre of our children?”
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, left, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speak before a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Representatives of member countries take votes during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood votes against resolution during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
