Former President Bill Clinton said Sunday that Republicans are spotlighting Hillary Rodham Clinton’s email scandal because they fear her presidential candidacy.
Mr. Clinton told Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s “GPS” that Republicans want his wife’s campaign “as mangled up as possible” because the Democratic primary race is about issues and substance while the Republican contest has turned into a spectacle led by billionaire businessman Donald Trump.
Mrs. Clinton had been widely expected to be the front-runner not only in the Democratic primaries but also the general election. Her husband said this scared Republicans, who have been pushing to the forefront of the media the scandal over her exclusive use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. She has apologized for emails containing classified information that passed through her server.
“I think there are lots of people who wanted there to be a race for different reasons, and they thought the only way they could make it a race was a full-scale frontal assault on her, and so this email thing became the biggest story in the world,” Mr. Clinton said.
Mrs. Clinton has been falling in Democratic polls, with Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders edging up in a strong second position. Mr. Sanders has surpassed her in New Hampshire polling.
Mr. Clinton also weighed in on the Republican primary race, saying it is possible that Mr. Trump could capture the nomination.
“He’s got a lot of pizzazz and zip,” Mr. Clinton said, adding that Mr. Trump has the ability to make himself distinct in a race that started out with 17 Republican candidates, and has found a way to make his working-class supporters believe that he would help them economically.
“He’s branded himself. He’s created excitement,” Mr. Clinton said.
• Anjali Shastry can be reached at ashastry@washingtontimes.com.
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