--- title: Hilary Clinton Says She Doesn't Need Bill to Defend Her description: "I don't need anybody to defend my record" canonical: https://time.com/2923135/hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-2016/ author: Hannah Goldberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-25T19:21:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:36.729Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hilary Clinton Says She Doesn't Need Bill to Defend Her og:description: "I don't need anybody to defend my record" og:url: https://time.com/2923135/hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80f8218d50ebde2c/69869946cd804d1cdbccba5f/hillary-clinton-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2516 og:image:height: 1415 og:image:alt: Global VIP's Attend Clinton Global Initiative og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hilary Clinton Says She Doesn't Need Bill to Defend Her twitter:description: "I don't need anybody to defend my record" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80f8218d50ebde2c/69869946cd804d1cdbccba5f/hillary-clinton-bill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton: I Don't Need Bill to Defend Me > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=44d79780-58ed-4f82-8c92-a71f37da000c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Hillary Clinton on ABC [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Hillary Clinton on ABC](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SN7gFS0M.m3u8) (2:14)  _Published 2014-06-10. Hillary on ABC: Big on Smiles, Small on Substance_ by [Hannah Goldberg](https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Jun 25, 2014 7:21 PM UTC  Former President Bill Clinton (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton look on after Hillary spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 25, 2009 in New York City. Former President Bill Clinton (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton look on after Hillary spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 25, 2009 in New York City. Mario Tama—Getty Images by [Hannah Goldberg](https://time.com/author/hannah-goldberg/) ## Hannah Goldberg Jun 25, 2014 7:21 PM UTC Hillary Clinton doesn’t need Bill to defend her. That’s what the former Secretary of State said in a new interview with PBS NewsHour airing Wednesday. Her comments came after former President Bill Clinton defended remarks by the 2016 presidential contender about the family’s financial situation that critics have said show she’s out of touch with average Americans. “She’s not out of touch,” Bill Clinton said. “My husband was very sweet today, but I don’t need anybody to defend my record, I think my record speaks for itself,” Hillary Clinton told PBS. Still, she acknowledged some missteps in how she’s discussed her considerable wealth while on tour for her new book _Hard Choices_. She recently said she and Bill were “dead broke” upon leaving the White House in 2001. “I shouldn’t have said the five or so words that I said, but my unartful use of those few words doesn’t change who I am, what I’ve stood for my entire life, what I stand for today,” Clinton said. Clinton, who has said she won’t decide whether to run for president again until later this year, said “you have to be a little bit crazy to run.” “I’ve had people come through the line who tell me their stories about losing their job, about what’s happened since they got health care that has helped them, and I hear this, so I know that my life of service is the biggest reason why I would consider doing this, because I would want to continue serving,” Clinton said. “But I also know that it’s a very hard job, and it’s a job that, you know, you have to be totally consumed by, and that’s kind of the definition of being a little bit crazy, I think.” See more of Clinton’s remarks below: ## Transcript [00:01] Hillary Clinton, in an interview with ABC News, found [00:03] herself in the awkward position of defending her [00:06] wealth. We came out of the White House not only dead [00:09] broke but in debt. We had no money when we got [00:12] there and we struggled to, you know, piece together [00:16] the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea's [00:20] education. Houses plural. Clinton's opponents jumped [00:24] on that. Shamelessly out of touch the NRC declared. [00:28] America Rising, the leading anti- Hilary super pack [00:31] tweeted pictures of the Clinton's two multi- million [00:33] dollar homes and they Hampton's vacation rental. That [00:37] mistake aside. Clinton's first big interview as her new [00:40] memoir Hard Choices goes on sale showed a more [00:43] personal side. Even as she spoke about Monica [00:46] Lewinsky, who resurfaced last month writing an essay [00:49] for Vanity Fair. Is there anything you would say to her [00:53] about her life? I, I, well I would wish her well. I hope [00:55] that she is able to, you know, think about her future [00:59] and construct a life that she finds a meaning and, and [01:03] satisfaction in. She talked about moving beyond the [01:06] toughest time in her life. Somebody said forgiveness [01:10] is releasing the prisoner and discovering the prisoner [01:13] was yourself. I am 100 % in [01:17] the camp that says, forgiveness is mostly about the [01:21] forgiver. I know too many people, having now [01:25] lived as long as I have, who can never get over it. The [01:28] softer side of Hilary Clinton. One we haven't seen since [01:32] the 2008 campaign. This is very personal for me. It's [01:37] not just political, it's not just public. That appeal, [01:40] though convincing, came too late. Not this time. When [01:44] you're, in the spotlight, as a woman, you [01:49] know you're being judged constantly. I mean it is just [01:53] never ending. And, you get a little, you know, worried [01:57] about, okay. Well you know. People, over on this side, [02:00] are loving what I'm wearing, looking like, saying. [02:04] People, over on this side, aren't. And, how, you know, [02:06] you, your natural tendency is how do you bring people [02:09] together, so that you can better communicate? I'm [02:11] done with that. 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