With two terms in the White House,a presidential library,global foundation,one memoir, twobestselling thrillersand apodcastalready among his credits, formerPresident Bill Clintonis now adding teacher to his resume.
The online course takes subscribers behind the scenes of pivotal moments of his life and presidency — with unvarnished and sometimes hilarious candor—to extract lessons on mediating conflict, developing persuasive speeches and working with opponents despite deep disagreements.
“I felt like it might be the last chance I would get to tell people why I believe that inclusive tribalism is better than divisive tribalism,” Clinton tells PEOPLE.
“We know it works better to get diverse people together, listen to all of them, and then try to do something that will be empowering to people, that will make life better, that’ll make the future better. But we are living in a time when, in the political world, division and subtraction seem to work better. It’s not in fashion today, but we have to keep reaching out.”
Bill Clinton.Courtesy MasterClass
“The real trick was for me to get the young women out of there without giving [the North Koreans] something substantive,” Clinton explains, going on to share his private conversation with Kim over dinner, and how Clinton and his team practiced in the mirror being expressionless for photos with Kim.
Then there was the now-deceased dictator’s attempt to trick Clinton into appearing in a propaganda film.
“I almost choked,” Clinton recalls.
Asked aboutDonald Trump’s exclusion from the un-officialEx-Presidents Club, whereformer presidents of both parties work together on special projects(Clinton and Bush have teamed up ondisaster assistanceand thePresidential Leadership Scholarsprogram), Clinton said:
“It saddens me that, basically, [Trump’s] main messaging is contrary to working together. It’s about him and what he wants and nothing else. And it’s about momentary political benefits … based on his divisive argument about how the world works. So, yeah, I’m sorry about that.”
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Clinton sat for the interview via Zoom in the guest house of hishome in Chappaqua, N.Y., one month after the final episode ofImpeachment: An American Crime Storyaired on FX.Monica Lewinskywasone of the producersof the miniseries, which Clinton did not watch.
Then there was ending the war in Bosnia, prevailing in Kosovo, progress in Middle East peace — and “we found a way to cooperate with Russia.” Clinton said.
“It was a time of growing peace, growing cooperation in the world and that works better. That’s what I would want them to know. And if they found out that, like every other human being who took a breath of air, I wasn’t perfect, that’s fine with me.”
source: people.com
