Former president Bill Clinton has made headlines for abandoning the teleprompter guidance during his remarks at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Clinton was one of a long list of speakers who addressed the crowds on Wednesday August 21. Other party leaders speaking yesterday were Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California representative and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who officially accepted the nomination for Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential running mate.
Additionally, President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, as well as former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kicked off the DNC on August 19 with their own speeches.
Political journalist Susan Milligan, who has written for numerous outlets including the Boston Globe and the New York Daily, took to X after Clinton’s speech to share her insight. Specifically, she pointed out that the former president did not read his remarks “from a teleprompter.” Instead, he used “actual paper” notes which, she explained, meant that he did not complete the “last version” of his words soon enough to have them added to the teleprompter.
The observation went viral online, with many people present for the speech confirming that Clinton was not following the script that appeared on the teleprompter. According to Milligan, this is not the first time that Clinton has memorized and improvised speeches, such as an address he gave in 1994 when the teleprompter malfunctioned.
Before his speech at the DNC, one of Clinton’s aides reported that he tore up his draft after the first night of the conference, citing a need for greater “fun” and a more “youthful, joyful approach” when he saw the enthusiasm of the crowd. The aide also said that he “can’t stress” adequately the fact that Clinton was “going to have fun.”
The speech, which was read by the aide before it was shared with the public, was also edited to pose a blunt critique of Donald Trump and accuse the former president of focusing on himself instead of the team approach that Harris has shown.
