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Gov. McAuliffe: The Clintons are done with politics

Posted at 7:39 AM, Dec 01, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-01 07:39:01-05

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime confidante of Hillary and Bill Clinton, said Wednesday that he thinks they’re done with politics following Hillary Clinton’s devastating loss in the 2016 presidential race.

“I think so, sure. I don’t think Hillary has any interest in running again,” McAuliffe said in a radio interview on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program, as first reported by The Washington Post.

“I’ll let her speak for herself. I haven’t asked her that. I think the president’s probably going to go back, working on all the good deeds he’s done before in helping people around the globe. You know, there are elections. We’ve got to move forward. As governor of Virginia, I’ve got to move forward,” he said.

McAuliffe, who before becoming governor was for years a top fundraiser and political adviser to both Clintons, discussed the toll the loss had taken.

“This is hard on anybody. I mean, can you imagine having to go through this? I’ve had many conversations with the Clinton family. We’re friends. It’s hard, very tough. I think on Election Day everybody felt pretty good. I think the Trump campaign thought they were gonna lose. And you know, this is what happens in elections.”

Clinton herself has been circumspect about her future plans, keeping a low profile punctuated by a few public appearances, such as a speech she gave at the annual Children’s Defense Fund gala days after the election.

“We have work to do, and for the sake of our children and our families and our country, I ask you to stay engaged, stay engaged on every level,” Clinton said at the event, after acknowledging the difficulty of coping with the election loss. “We need you. America needs you, your energy, your ambition, your talent. That is how we get through this.”

The former Democratic nominee has also been spotted a couple of times in the area around her home in Chappaqua, New York. A few people have crossed paths with Clinton hiking in the woods or at the grocery store, and shared pictures of the experience on social media.

During the radio interview, McAuliffe said he “looks forward to a productive relationship” with President-elect Donald Trump despite their political differences, and that he’s known Trump “for 20 years, had dinner with him, golfed with him.”

“When I ran for governor in ’09, he actually wrote me a $25,000 check,” McAuliffe noted.