Former President Bill Clinton sought to dismantle former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the Republican candidate is too self-centered to be allowed back into the White House.
“In 2024, we have a clear choice: ‘We The People’ versus ‘Me, Myself, and I,’” Mr. Clinton said. “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies. Count the ’I’s.”
Mr. Clinton assumed the role of jovial attack dog, mercilessly mocking Mr. Trump’s approach to politics. He jabbed at Mr. Trump’s politics and even his age — both men are 78, but Mr. Clinton just celebrated his birthday and Mr. Trump’s was in June.
“I’m still younger than Donald Trump,” he said.
Mr. Clinton also said he is looking forward to Vice President Kamala Harris, who in her youth worked at a McDonald’s, winning the White House in November.
“She will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonalds,” he said.
In a speech that seemed to ramble from point to point, Mr. Clinton kept coming back to Mr. Trump’s personality.
“He creates chaos and then he sort-of curates it, as if it were precious art,” Mr. Clinton said.
Mr. Clinton seemed to sense his time in politics is nearing an end.
“I have no idea how many more of these I’ll be able to come to,” he said, pointing out that he’d been to every Democratic convention since 1972.
But the Mr. Clinton who helmed the party in the 1990s would not recognize today’s Democrats.
He signed legislation defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, he oversaw several years of balanced budgets, he approved a major reform of welfare programs, he signed a very tough immigration law, and he called for abortion to be safe, legal and rare.
This year, Democrats’ convention features a mobile abortion clinic and from the stage speakers cheered the procedure.
Mr. Clinton didn’t seem phased by the shift in his party, saying he marveled at the direction the younger generation of leaders was taking Democrats.
But he also had a warning for Democrats not to let the good feelings for Ms. Harris dissipate.
“One of the reasons President-to-be Harris is doing so well is we’re all so happy,” he said. “But you should never underestimate her adversary and these people are really good at distracting us, and triggering doubt, and triggering buyer’s remorse.”
He also harkened back to his wife, Hillary, and her 2016 loss to Mr. Trump.
“We’ve seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it couldn’t happen, when people got distracted by phony issues, or overconfident,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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