Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton told Jimmy Kimmel Thursday that she empathizes with Republican rival Jeb Bush because “running for president is really hard.”
“He’s a very accomplished man and he is out there making his case,” Clinton said during a taped appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in the midst of a two-day fundraising swing through California. “It’s really hard and you know some days are better than other days. I know that from personal experience.”
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Clinton’s easygoing empathy for Bush’s plight comes as her campaign has enjoyed success in recent weeks, while Bush’s poll numbers have suffered from a poor debate performance and news of jittery fundraisers. On the advice of new campaign strategists, Bush rebooted his campaign this week with a “Jeb Can Fix It” bus tour.
Clinton joked that maybe Bush would have more fun on the campaign trail if his campaign just posted a hotline on the side of his bus to solicit advice from anyone.
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In the wide-ranging interview, Kimmel asked Clinton about everything from the Republican debates to what title former President Bill Clinton would carry if she won the White House.
“First dude. First mate. First gentleman. I am just not sure about it,” Clinton said with a smile.
Clinton called her husband “a terrific campaigner” and said it would be “fascinating” if he were eligible to run again.
“He would run again. I don’t want you to tell anybody that. If he could, he would.”
But if somehow they were running against each other, Clinton said confidently that she would win.
On Clinton’s famed attendance at Donald Trump’s wedding, Kimmel asked if she got Trump a wedding present. She quipped that her attendance was the gift.
Clinton admitted that she’ll likely watch Trump host “Saturday Night Live” this weekend because “I think he watched me.”
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The former secretary of state simply laughed after Kimmel read her a litany of things Republican candidate Ben Carson has said recently. Pressed on her thoughts about them, she shrugged and said, “Well you know, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Maybe you should start saying some crazy stuff,” Kimmel joked.
Clinton told Kimmel the experience of watching the most recent Republican debate was “a combination of being appalled and being amused.”
In his opening monologue, Kimmel joked about Clinton’s prospects as the potential first female president.
“I think it would be great to have a woman president. I mean, for one thing, we could pay her 23% less,” he said, before introducing a segment in which he chatted with little kids about the gender gap in politics. Clinton made a surprise appearance toward the end of the skit. “I’m really happy to meet you,” she told the kids. “I’m running to be the president.” “Is it hard?” one child asked. “It’s really hard,” Clinton replied. The kids asked Clinton to please pass laws that would offer free food in restaurants, free toys in stores and no school ever. “I’m gonna write these down so I can remember,” Clinton said, pulling out a pen and pad. Some of the kids were not immediately on board with the possibility of a female president so Clinton had to court her potential future constituents. “We need to have a woman be president, and then you would have more evidence to base your decision on,” Clinton offered. This rounds out Clinton’s tour of the late-night shows. She appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last month and stopped by “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in September.
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