Hillary Clinton said on Monday that she “can’t imagine” running for president again.
On Tina Brown’s “TBD” podcast, Brown asked Clinton if there was any circumstance that could cause her to change her mind and seek a rematch against President Donald Trump. Clinton responded: “I can’t imagine that, no.”
After Breitbart News reported last year that liberal talking heads were revealing that former Clinton allies had been telling her that she could win the nomination if former Vice President Joe Biden does not run, former Clinton aides like Mark Penn and Philippe Reines suggested that Clinton could run again.
In addition, CNN’s Jeff Zeleny recently reported that Clinton was not closing the door to another White House run. The New York Times this week also noted that “in private conversations,” Clinton “occasionally muses about an opening, according to some who have spoken with her, sounding more wistful than realistic.”
But John Podesta, Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman, said Clinton “is not running” and blasted the “media catnip” that continued to fuel rumors.
“I take her at her word,” Podesta told CNN’s Erin Burnett in a January 29 interview. “She’s not running for president.”
Clinton told Brown that though she “can’t imagine” running again, she is “very worried about the direction that Trump and his allies are taking us.”
“It is a very concerning time not only for our democracy but for Western democracy overall,” Clinton added on the podcast. “Just because I’m not running, I’m not going to keep my mouth shut. I’m going to keep speaking out.”