Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Bill Clinton held an online discussion on Friday about “empowering women and girls,” despite criticism of Clinton’s history of alleged sexual misconduct and predatory behavior.
Harris said it was a “true honor” to join Clinton, 74, for the virtual event hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative.
At one point in the talk, Clinton cryptically supported Harris’ advice that people should try to “be present” while living their lives, adding that doing so allows them to “forgive themselves” for wrongdoing.
Clinton said, “It’s good advice. Also, if you are really present, it provides you with the gift of memory as you go through life. If you pay attention at every stage of your life, you can build on it and grow. And you can forgive your mistakes and keep looking for new answers. “
The 22-minute conversation focused in part on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, but also included short talks on Harris ’mother, the warming of the spring weather, and the role of vice presidents.
Harris threw himself at Clinton: “I know you, during the course of your presidency, but your job, you’ve always focused on the issue of poverty and what we need to do to lift people out of poverty.” .
The vice president noted that the recently passed U.S. rescue plan law increased an annual tax credit from $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 or $ 3,600 for children under six, which advocates say could drastically reduce poverty.
The billing of the event as a forum on “empowering women and girls” drew strong criticism from the alleged victims of Clinton and her old friend Jeffrey Epstein.
“Is it an af-king joke? This pervert …… who raped me … will talk about women’s empowerment ” he tweeted Juanita Broaddrick, who accuses Clinton of raping her in 1978.
“Wow !! Are you asking Clinton how to empower women? ”Tweeted Virginia Giuffre, an alleged Epstein trafficking victim who says Prince Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 years old.
“Wrong person, what I should ask you is what the hell was Clinton doing on Epstein Island and private planes 27 TIMES!”
In addition to Broaddrick’s allegation, Paula Jones charged Clinton with sexual harassment in 1991 and two other women, Kathleen Willey and Leslie Millwee, charged him with assault.
Clinton was indicted in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with her affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was 21 when she made a stay in the White House.
During their conversation, Clinton and Harris also discussed his role as a tiebreaker in the divided Senate.
“You know, when Al Gore was vice president, he did a fabulous job. But he had a wonderful saying. He said, “Whenever I vote, we win,” Clinton told Harris.
Harris replied, “I have adopted that saying. I’ll tell you, the first time I said it, I said, “As Al Gore said.” Then, the next time I said it, I said “like someone famous said” and now I just say, “As I always say, when I vote, I win.”