Rep. Katherine Clark says she would not accept campaign help from former President Bill Clinton and encouraged fellow Democrats to follow suit.
“[If asked], I would politely decline,” Clark said in an interview Tuesday with Boston Public Radio. “It’s not because I don’t think he did some good things in his presidency, and continues to, but I think that this issue in this time, we’d need to hear more of an apology.”
Clinton, once considered one of the Democratic party’s top surrogates, campaigned during Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential primary against Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), a move that received mixed reviews. And in the #MeToo era, Clark argued that Clinton’s reckless behavior with then-20 year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky in the 1990s —and his continued approach to the situation — does not align with the party’s values.
“I have thought about it, and I think the #MeToo movement is long overdue. I think it is long time that men like Bill Clinton come to a better understanding of the implications of their actions,” she said. “Bill Clinton did many good things in light of his presidency, but now in light of the #MeToo movement, I think we all have to look back and hold him accountable as well.
“I think he has been slow to apologize,” she continued, “and like so many men of considerable power, just really doesn’t understand the ramifications of his actions.”
On an appearance on Greater Boston earlier this month, host Jim Braude asked Clark if she would accept Bill Clinton’s help campaigning on an upcoming race. Clark answered, “You know, I’d have to think about it.”
One month later, Clark said she’s thought about it — and resolved that Clinton should not have a place in future Democratic campaigns.
“This is a time where we need to be saying we demand apologies that are meaningful from people who have really hurt women,” Clark said, “and that this is not the time to have people who have had such public scandals like Bill Clinton on the campaign trail with us.”
