Bill Richardson: Bill Clinton 'Still Mad at Me' for Endorsing Obama over Hillary

Bill Richardson said his former boss, President Bill Clinton, still has not gotten over his endorsement of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in 2008.

“He’s still mad at me because I endorsed President Obama,” Richardson told host David Gregory in an appearance on Meet The Press‘s “Press Pass” this weekend. Richardson was Bill Clinton’s Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary before becoming New Mexico’s Governor and a failed Democratic presidential candidate. 

During the 2008 Iowa caucuses, supporters of then-candidate Obama cut a deal with supporters of Richardson. The deal was that in Democratic precincts in which Obama did not meet the fifteen percent threshold for viability, Obama supporters would go for Richardson in the next round of caucusing. Meanwhile, in precincts in which Richardson did not meet the fifteen percent threshold and Obama had a surplus of backers, Obama’s supporters would make Richardson viable by caucusing for him. Though both camps denied any dealmaking in 2008, Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe later conceded there were some “agreements” between the precinct captains of both camps. 

Clinton was reportedly livid when he found out about the agreement, which may have prevented his wife from finishing second in Iowa. Clinton finished third in the 2008 caucuses to John Edwards and Obama, who won. Richardson later formally endorsed Obama over Hillary Clinton in March of 2008.