Now that Hillary Clinton is “out of the woods,” the former Democratic presidential nominee has become more vocal about her experiences during the 2016 election.
Earlier this month, Clinton shared her thoughts on Russian interference in the election, media treatment and sexism in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour at a “Women for Women International” event in New York. Friday, she compared President Donald Trump’s presidency to that of Richard Nixon’s in a fiery commencement speech at her alma mater, Wellesley College.
And in an interview with journalist Rebecca Traister, the former secretary of state revealed details about her day-to-day life following a tumultuous political year.
Here’s a roundup of the most interesting things we learned about Clinton’s life after the election from the New York magazine cover story, published Friday.
1. She doesn’t shy away from dishing gossip
President Donald Trump’s inauguration may not have been easy for Clinton to sit through, but she had others sitting by her side to help.
“It was a really painful cry to his hard-core supporters that he wasn’t changing,” she said. “The ‘carnage’ in our country? It was a very disturbing moment. I caught Michelle Obama’s eye, like, What is going on here? I was sitting next to George and Laura Bush, and we have our political differences, but this was beyond any experience any of us had ever had.”
After Trump’s inauguration, some outlets reported that former President George W. Bush allegedly reacted to Trump’s speech by saying “That was some weird s–t.”
When asked by Traister if she overheard Bush say that, Clinton only “raise(d) her eyebrows and grin(ned).”
2. She’s not really into therapy
“That’s not how I roll,” she said. “I’m all for it for anybody who’s at all interested in it. It’s just not how I deal with stuff.”
However, she said she and former President Bill Clinton “had some marital counseling in the late ’90s, around our very difficult time.”
3. She struggles with layering clothing
Traister describes following Clinton at an event in mid-April, during which Clinton “was fretting about everyone’s wardrobe — she said she’d just moved her winter clothes out of her closets but was still struggling with layering.”
4. She spends her free time doing a lot of normal, everyday activities
“She speaks often these days of the benefits of rest and good food and being outdoors,” Traister wrote. “She answered mail and had scores of off-the-record exit-interview meetings, and she and Bill saw most of the shows currently on Broadway. They have dinners together and spend time with their grandchildren.”
5. She has strong views on Easter candy
When chatting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo at an event, Clinton and the New York politician exchanged opinions on Easter candy.
“They talked about Easter, about how she’d like to fill some of those plastic eggs for the kids but Chelsea told her that Charlotte can’t yet eat jelly beans,” Traister wrote. “Cuomo suggested doing ‘those marshmallow things instead.’ It was all very ordinary and small-talk-y until you remembered that Donald Trump is President and Hillary Clinton is discussing the merits of Peeps versus jelly beans.”
