Hillary Clinton’s campaign aides have actively tried to keep the campaign about the person they hope will be the future president, not a former president.
On Friday, however, Clinton’s communications director said that Bill Clinton, someone many Democrats see as the brightest political mind in their party, is sitting in on campaign meetings and giving advice to top staff.
“We are going to use him when we need him,” said Jen Palmieri, Clinton’s top communications aide, before adding that the campaign is “leaning on him all the time for strategic advice.”
“He doesn’t come to every meeting that we have, but he does join his wife often in discussions,” Palmieri added.
Hillary Clinton is holding the first major rally of her campaign on Saturday in New York. The former secretary of state will highlight her career in a biographical speech that hones in on her mother, in particular, as a rhetorical device to give a rationale to her campaign.
To date, Bill Clinton has not been publicly involved in the campaign. While he will attend tomorrow’s rally — his first event of the campaign — he will not speak, aides have said.
“We don’t have timetable for him,” Palmieri said during an event in New York sponsored by Politico. “We are going to be leaning on him for fundraising. We are going to be leaning on him for retail campaigning.”
Campaign manager Robby Mook, who also sat on the panel, told the assembled students, fans of the campaign and journalists that the former president has given him advice on how to manage the campaign.
“He is a really helpful big picture sounding board” Mook said, adding that Clinton is helpful in “lifting us up and thinking big.”
Mook recalled that Clinton once told him, “Lets major in the majors, not minor in the minors.”
Clinton said last year that he was a “bit player” in his wife’s 2016 decision. In an interview earlier this year, he said he was going to play a background role in the campaign.
But Clinton aides have said that once the former president is needed, he will be more than willing to help.
So far, Bill Clinton has kept his opinions on the campaign to himself.
“I don’t know,” Bill Clinton said last month when asked by CNN how he thought the campaign was going. “I’m in my foundation.”
“Ask them,” Clinton added, pointing to the campaign aides who were closely watching his every word.