--- title: Bill Clinton Urges Votes to Reject Trump's 'Chaos' description: Clinton mocked Trump's interest in Hannibal Lecter and poked fun at his own reputation as a McDonald's regular canonical: https://time.com/7013750/bill-clinton-dnc-highlights/ author: Eric Cortellessa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-22T04:10:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:46:07.912Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bill Clinton Urges Votes to Reject Trump's 'Chaos' og:description: Clinton mocked Trump's interest in Hannibal Lecter and poked fun at his own reputation as a McDonald's regular og:url: https://time.com/7013750/bill-clinton-dnc-highlights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1344838f0f2b398c/698a5a23186892c2796c8691/GettyImages-2167064783.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Day Three Of The 2024 Democratic National Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Clinton Urges Votes to Reject Trump's 'Chaos' twitter:description: Clinton mocked Trump's interest in Hannibal Lecter and poked fun at his own reputation as a McDonald's regular twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1344838f0f2b398c/698a5a23186892c2796c8691/GettyImages-2167064783.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # At DNC, Bill Clinton Urges Voters to Reject Trump: ‘He Creates and Curates Chaos.’ > 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=5b493a11-3825-4a60-8243-c1353986f931&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: At DNC, Bill Clinton Urges Voters to Reject Trump: ‘He Creates and Curates Chaos' [Watch (HLS stream): At DNC, Bill Clinton Urges Voters to Reject Trump: ‘He Creates and Curates Chaos'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lsy2Lajy.m3u8) (5:50)  _Published 2024-08-22. Bill Clinton has done this before. Dubbed by Barack Obama as the “secretary of explaining stuff,” the former President greeted a familiar crowd Wednesday night when he addressed the Democratic National Convention for the 12th time. Clinton’s speech was at once a generational torch-passing to Kamala Harris and a warning about Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House._  by [Eric Cortellessa / Chicago](https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/)  ## Eric Cortellessa / Chicago Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2024 4:10 AM UTC Bill Clinton has done this before. Dubbed by Barack Obama as the “secretary of explaining stuff,” the former President greeted a familiar crowd Wednesday night when he addressed the Democratic National Convention for the 12th time. Clinton’s speech was at once a generational torch-passing to Kamala Harris and a warning about Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House.  by [Eric Cortellessa / Chicago](https://time.com/author/eric-cortellessa/)  ## Eric Cortellessa / Chicago Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2024 4:10 AM UTC Bill Clinton has done this before. Dubbed by Barack Obama as the “secretary of explaining stuff,” the former President greeted a familiar crowd Wednesday night when he addressed the Democratic National Convention for the 12th time. Clinton’s speech was at once a generational torch-passing to Kamala Harris and a warning about Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House. He described Harris as “the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes, the sheer joy to do that on good days and bad days.” Clinton has been an effective surrogate for past nominees; he delivered a [tour de force](https://www.politico.com/story/2012/09/how-bill-clinton-does-it-080819) for Obama at the 2012 confab in Charlotte. To Democrats, Clinton offers an opportunity now to persuade white working-class voters to support Harris in the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania—all three of which he won in his 1992 and 1996 campaigns. Early in his remarks, Clinton sought to brandish Harris’ blue collar bona fides by invoking her stint working at McDonald’s as a student. “I’m so happy when she actually enters the White House because, at last, she’ll break my record as the President who has spent the most time at McDonald’s,” he said, poking fun at his reputation as a regular at the fast-food chain. Speaking before tens of thousands of delegates at Chicago’s United Center, Clinton drew a stark contrast between the two candidates. “In 2024, we have a clear choice: ‘We the people’ versus ‘me, myself, and I,’” he said. “I know which one I like better for our country.” He called Trump a “paragon of consistency” who, after eight years as a force in American politics, is “still dividing, blaming, and belittling. He creates and curates chaos. It’s showmanship, but it’s not leadership.” He also castigated Trump as self-interested. “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies—count the I’s.” A shrewd explainer of complex policy issues, Clinton largely avoided delving into the details of Harris’ agenda, but said she would deliver “more affordable housing, affordable health care, and affordable childcare,” as well as “more financing for small businesses.” At the same time, he said, Harris would be a steward of maintaining America’s role as the indispensable global superpower. “Do you want to strengthen our alliances and stand up for freedom and democracy around the world?” Clinton asked. “Or a tribute to the ‘late great’ Hannibal Lecter?” Toward the end of his speech, Clinton encouraged his fellow Democrats to reach out to undecided Americans with empathy and compassion. “Talk to your neighbors,” he said. “Meet people where they are. Don’t demean them. Ask them for their help.” In that vein, Clinton warned the party against the complacency many felt when his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, lost to Trump in 2016\. Multiple [recent](https://www.washingtonpost.com/tablet/2024/08/15/aug-9-13-2024-washington-post-abc-news-ipsos-poll/) [polls](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-poll-kamala-harris-policies-trump-democratic-convention-2024/) show Harris with at least a 3% edge over Trump nationally, while a _New York Times_/Siena College survey published over the weekend [shows](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/us/elections/kamala-harris-trump-az-nc-ga-nv.html) her gaining ground in critical swing states. But it still remains a close race that many are expecting to be a nail-biter. Clinton encouraged Democrats to prepare for an ugly road ahead but to leave nothing to chance. “If America hires Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” he said, “we will never regret it.” ## Transcript I do want to say one word about President Biden. Remember, he had an improbable turn that made him president. And we were in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crash. He healed our sick and put the rest of us back to work. And He strengthens our alliances for peace and security. He stood up for Ukraine. Trying desperately to get a cease fire in the Middle East. And then he did something really hard for a politician to do. He voluntarily gave up political power. And George Washington knew that, and he did it. And he set the standard for us serving two terms before it was mandatory. It helped his legacy, and it will enhance Joe Biden's legacy. And you And it's a stark contrast to what goes on in the other party. So I want to thank him for his courage, compassion, his class, his service, a sacrifice. And Two days ago, I turned 78, the oldest man in my family of four generation. And the only personal vanity I want to assert is I'm still younger than Donald Trump. So, in 2024, we got a pretty clear choice, it seems to me. Comala Harris for the people. And the other guy who's proved even more than the first go around that he's about me, myself and I. I know which one I like better for our country. When she was young, she worked at McDonald's, and she greeted every person with that 1,000 w smile and said, How can I help you? Now she's at the Pinnacle of power, and she's still asking, How can I help you? I will be I'll be so happy when she actually enters the White House's President, because she will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonald's. Come Harris is the only candidate in this race who has the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes, the sheer joy. Get something done. We got to ask ourselves the questions that we're going to hire a president. Do you want to build a strong economy from the bottom up in the middle of? Or do you want to spend the next four years talking about crowd size? I want to say this from the bottom of my heart. I have no idea how many or more of these I'll be able to come to. I started in 2076, and I've been everyone since. But no. 72. Lord, I'm getting old. But here's what I want you to know. If you vote for this team, if you can get them elected, and let them bring in this breath of fresh air. You will be proud of it for the rest of your life. Your children will be proud of it. Your grandchildren will be proud of it. Take it from a man who once had the honor to be called in this convention, a man from Hope. 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