President Bill Clinton speaking in Raleigh in support of Vice President Kamala Harris' campaing. Photo: Dylan Rhoney/Cardinal & Pine
The 42nd president of the United States capped off a four-day visit to eastern North Carolina with a stop in downtown Raleigh. Clinton detailed the dangers of Donald Trump potentially returning to the White House and laid out how Kamala Harris would work to solve the country’s problems.
Former president Bill Clinton told a crowd in Raleigh on Sunday that the fate of the election, and the country’s future, may be in their hands.
“It could be here. Not just in this state, it could be here in this town, in this crowd that determines the next presidency,” Clinton said to a crowd of 600 in downtown Raleigh.
Clinton’s appearance capped off a four-day visit to the Tar Heel State that also included stops in Durham, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Greenville, and Rocky Mount. During his tour through the state, Clinton focused on turning out the vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with just over two weeks to go until Election Day.
@cardinalandpine Former president Bill Clinton told a crowd in Raleigh on Sunday that the fate of the election, and the country’s future, may be in their hands. “It could be here in this town, in this crowd, that determines the next presidency,” he said.
Clinton told the crowd in Raleigh that Harris is the candidate voters should choose for a better future.
“The person who is most likely to give us a good economy, most likely to give us a good healthcare system, most likely to preserve and protect our democracy and way of life is Kamala Harris,” he said.
Clinton says crowd must reach out to all voters
While Clinton campaigned on behalf of Harris, he asked that voters not give up on reaching out to those who have opposing views, and to take the opposite approach that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has taken in pitting Americans against each other.
“I don’t want you to do what they so often do to us. I don’t want you to look at them with hatred in your eyes. I don’t want you to talk down to them,” Clinton said.
Looking back to his early days in politics, Clinton also lamented the decline of local news and the way outlets such as Fox News have filled the void in many communities.
“When I was starting out in politics in Arkansas, I could be in a Republican town, Democratic town, I would go in every coffee shop and they always had a local paper, weekly or daily, and a locally owned radio station was on. Today, almost all of those are gone. And almost all those places are turned on to Fox News from the time they open to the time they close.”
Research from Northwestern University shows that from 2005 to 2023, 2,900 newspapers have ceased publication, and that over half of the nation’s counties have either zero or one paper.
Clinton said this decline of local news has led to what he calls “groupthink.” However, he also said that Americans of different political beliefs still have a lot in common.
“If you scratch everybody long enough, there is normally a person down there somewhere. And a lot of these people who think they hate us politically, if they were your neighbor and your house caught on fire, they’d come in, try to help you put it out, and get your kids outside,” he said.
Nonetheless, Clinton said the damage caused by the shifting media landscape and those who’ve sought to exploit it has been profound.
“This has been a dark and difficult time for our country, because the information systems have been poisoned. And we think name calling beats the heck out of generous, specific, accurate, arguments,” Clinton said.
What’s at stake for America in the election
Clinton emphasized that the crowd and the nation at large have a lot at stake in the outcome of the election.
In recent days, Trump has engaged in fascist-like rhetoric, describing other Americans as “the enemy within” and saying they should be targeted by the military. Trump said this group includes California Congressman Adam Schiff, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and “radical left lunatics.”
“It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by the National Guard or if really necessary by the military,” Trump specified.
Clinton lightheartedly joked that he and his wife, Hillary Clinton, would be among the people Trump would target.
“I guess Hillary and I made the list,” he said to laughter from the crowd. “I want you to elect Kamala Harris because I don’t want them coming after me in my old age.”
However, things took a sharp turn as Clinton said that Trump’s threats to target his political opponents needs to be taken seriously.
“We’re all laughing, but he will do this,” the former president emphasized.
Two and a half decades removed from the presidency, Clinton said his biggest concern is for his grandchildren’s future.
“I want my grandkids to grow up believing they can do whatever they want with their lives if they work for it, and that they have an obligation to make sure every person they meet has the same chance as they do, even if they have less money, if they’re of a different race, [if] anything about them different,” Clinton said. “This is America.”
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