In a revealing discussion on MSNBC, Former President Bill Clinton blamed mainstream media coverage of Hillary Clinton’s email controversy for her 2016 presidential loss.
The Hill reported that during a recent appearance on "Morning Joe," Bill Clinton argued that the media's focus on the email scandal significantly impacted the election outcome.
Bill Clinton, who recently authored a book titled "Citizen," shared insights into his frustrations over the 2016 election results.
He expressed discontent with how Hillary’s use of a private email server was handled in public discourse, setting the tone for a contentious campaign.
In "Citizen," released this November, Bill Clinton delves deep into the media's role during the elections. He criticizes the extent to which the email issue was spotlighted, overshadowing other important campaign issues.
According to Clinton, the media repeatedly emphasized Hillary Clinton's emails as the central issue of the campaign, a narrative he vehemently disagrees with. He highlighted this during his interview with Joe Scarborough, pointing out the lasting implications of such a focus.
The email controversy, which centered on Hillary Clinton's use of a private server for official communications while she was Secretary of State, became a focal point for her opponents. Donald Trump and other Republicans leveraged this issue heavily throughout the campaign.
The FBI’s involvement, particularly the announcement by then-Director James Comey about new emails shortly before the election, only fueled more media frenzy. Bill Clinton remarked on the timing and impact of this announcement in his book.
Challenging the narrative, Bill Clinton cited findings from the Trump State Department, which stated that Hillary had neither sent nor received emails marked as classified on her personal device. This, he argued, was often overlooked in media reports.
He further explained that the rules Hillary Clinton followed for email communications were only revised after her tenure as Secretary of State, suggesting that the criticism was misplaced.
"It’s easier for us to know what happened in 2016 in some ways than it is what happened in 2024 … because in 2016, you had two highly unusual things," said Bill Clinton, referencing the comparative simplicity of understanding past political landscapes.
"First of all, the mainstream media told the American people repeatedly that the biggest issue was Hillary’s emails. That’s what they said," he continued, underscoring his point about media bias.
"When in fact, even the Trump State Department said she neither sent nor received a single solitary email on her personal device marked classified," Clinton added, emphasizing the misinformation spread during the campaign.
Bill Clinton’s criticism extends to the broader media landscape, including both conservative and other news outlets. He believes that the constant emphasis on the emails created a distorted perception that influenced voters’ decisions.
His comments reflect a broader concern about the power of media narratives in shaping political outcomes, a theme that is thoroughly explored in his book, "Citizen."
Through his book and interviews, Bill Clinton aims to reshape the understanding of the 2016 election, offering a perspective that challenges the mainstream narrative and calls for a reassessment of media’s role in democratic processes.
