Hillary Clinton is well known to the American as well as the world public. To say she has always been a divisive figure is an understatement. In fact, Mrs. Clinton might as well be polarizing as she's intelligent. Here are some interesting things you might not have known about the former first lady turned secretary of state.
Hillary and Trump share more than presidential debates
The Clintons and the Trumps were once great friends, and Trump was a donator of the Democratic party. Later, Trump pulled 180 and became a Republican party candidate. Hillary also switched parties. She was a young Republican, and it was not until she started college that she turned to Democrats.
Hillary vs negative press
Over the years, Hillary showed that she was, in fact, a funny woman. She stated, "If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle."
Young Hillary wanted to be an astronaut
Before becoming a prominent lawyer, Hillary wanted to join NASA, but they did not accept women at the time. Later she tried to join the Marines. As a child, Hillary dreamed of becoming a baseball player. But, she met her husband, Bill Clinton, and branched out into the corporate world.
Bill proposed twice
Clinton had to get down on his knee twice to get a "yes" from young Hillary. He bought her a dream house before he proposed the second time and surprised her with it after she accepted to be Mrs. Clinton.
Hillary approached Bill at Yale Law
While at the Yale Library, young Clinton and his wife-to-be made a connection. She noticed him staring, so Hillary took matters into her hands when she approached him, saying, "If you're going to keep staring at me and I'm going to keep staring back, we may as well know each other. I'm Hillary Rodham. What's your name?"
Harvard accepted her, but Hillary did not accept them
As the story goes, a friend introduced Hillary to a legendary Harvard law professor: "Professor so-and-so, this is Hillary Rodham. She's trying to decide between us and our nearest competitor." The professor replied, "First of all, we have no nearest competitor, and secondly, we don't need any more women." Hillary decided to go to Yale, where she was among 27 women among over 200 men.
The vast right-wing conspiracy
After hearing the allegations about Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, Hillary said it was a "vast right-wing conspiracy." This phrase became so popular that it ended up on T-shirts and continues to haunt Hillary to this day.
She only took Clinton's last name to help Clinton's political career
The Chicago-born lawyer did not want to change her last name. But, before Clinton started campaigning to be elected governor of Arkansas, she was advised to alter Hillary Rodham to Clinton. It was more appealing to the voters. This was five years into their marriage in 1980.
Hillary was making three times more than her husband
Before entering the White House, Hillary worked for a prominent law firm and earned $100,000 a year. Her husband, governor of Arkansas, made $35,000.
Hillary vs Rudy Giuliani
It is no secret that the former mayor of NYC and Hillary are not each others' biggest fans. In one speech, she talked about his hairpiece, "Frankly, Mr. Mayor, I think your new hairstyle is the right way to go. After all, in Washington, the coverup is always worse than the truth."
Clinton is a Grammy winner
In 1997, Hillary Clinton won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio of her book It Takes a Village. For a girl most voted most likely to succeed, this was one more thing that made her stand out.
Hillary was not a popular first lady
At the time, she was one of the most influential lawyers, but Hillary did not do as well in the public eye. Many saw Bill Clinton as a charismatic leader, so people were not kind to the two women involved when the Lewinsky affair blew up. When asked about her image in 1993, Hillary replied that she is a "Rorschach test."
Too conservative yet too liberal
Hillary's career took off in 2000, and she became Secretary of State in 2009. But to this day, liberals see her as more conservative, while for the rest, she was always too liberal. The hatred from the Republicans during the 2016 elections was nothing new for Clinton. She already faced the accusation that she was dividing the democratic party when she ran for a presidential candidate against Barack Obama.
Hillary vs Cheney
Famously, Hillary said in 2007: "You can always tell when the Republicans are getting restless because the Vice President's motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges."
Hillary declined Vogue
In 2007, she said no to Vogue since she did not want to appear too "feminine."
Also read: 23 of Donald Trump's Most Hilarious Moments as President
Hillary, the devil?
Alex Jones has called Hillary Clinton "an abject psychopathic demon from hell." The conspiracy theorist also claimed Obama and Clinton smell: "Imagine how bad she smells, man? I'm told her and Obama just stink, stink, stink, stink. You can't wash that evil off, man. Told there's a rotten smell around Hillary. I'm not kidding, people say, they say – folks, I've been told this by high up folks. They say listen, Obama and Hillary both smell like sulfur … I've talked to people that are in protective details, they're scared of her. And they say listen, she's a frickin' demon, and she stinks and so does Obama. I go, like what? Sulfur. They smell like hell."
Bill defended their marriage
Many had their doubts over how love was there in the Clinton marriage. Talking to Terry Gross in 2004, Bill Clinton compared their marriage to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's.
But Hillary was more successful
Hillary said about her relationship with former POTUS, "If I didn't kick his *** every day, he wouldn't be worth anything."
Hillary was on a team that impeached Nixon
Richard Nixon resigned after the Watergate scandal. The impeachment inquiry had nearly 50 lawyers. Only a handful were women, and Hillary Rodham was one of them.
Also read: 47 Crazy Donald Trump Facts That Will Drive You Nuts
Hillary vs Obama
While Obama won Democratic approval and went on to become the president of the USA, the battle with Hillary was not easy. She once mocked Obama, saying, "I could stand up here and say, 'Let's just get everybody together, let's get unified, the sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing, and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect."
The First White House Couple ever to be fingerprinted by FBI
During a "Filegate" in June 1996, both Clintons were fingerprinted by the FBI. Allegations arose that the First Administration had improper access to FBI documents between 1993 and 1994.
Hillary Clinton vs Edmund Hillary
In 1995, Clinton met Edmund Hillary. She told the mountaineer that she was named after him. That was soon debunked since Hillary was born several years before the world got to know Sir Hillary. In 2006, she said it was a family myth.
The first presidential wife with a post-graduate degree
The most traveled first lady was also the first in the White House to hold a post-graduate degree. Rodham's post-graduate was at Yale's Child Study Center. Her successor Laura Bush became the second first lady with a post-graduate degree.
Also read: 21 of the Biggest Lies in American History
Hillary still defends her husband over his affair
Lewinsky and Clinton had an affair while he was POTUS, and she was 22 to 25 years old. The matter got him impeached in 1998. In 2022, Hillary said Bill would not reveal the affair because he was "so embarrassed and really ashamed about it."
BLM, gay marriage, feminism
Hillary's 2016 presidential campaign did not go smoothly. She faced outrage from the Black Lives Matter protestors and suspicious from women and LGBTQ+ voters. The BLM protestors referred to Hillary Clinton's comments in a 1996 speech on crime legislation that at-risk youth were "superpredators."
Chelsea Clinton was named after a song
Chelsea, the only child of Bill and Hillary Clinton, was named after a son, Chelsea Morning. The folk song by Joni Mitchell from the 60s was inspired by New York's Chelsea.
It's all about the hair
Clinton's years in Senate, emails, alleged marital troubles, and pantsuits are now part of modern history. Despite all the troubles, Hillary has a way of coping with criticism thanks to sarcasm, as she once said, "I'm undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair."
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