SANTA MONICA — Former President Bill Clinton told an audience of about 500 packed into the outdoor artists’ complex at Bergamot Station that his wife was the best choice to lead America — and the world — back to an era of “shared prosperity.”
After apologizing for arriving more than an hour late for the event — “I’m sorry you had to introduce me twice, because I thought I was on time,” he said — Clinton contrasted what he called Trump’s division with Hillary Clinton’s appeal to unity.
Trump’s campaign, Clinton explained, had to be seen in the context of global economic stagnation, which left millions of people fighting for scarce resources, and turning to ethnic and racial divisions to find mutual assistance against competitors.
Like Trump, he said, they wanted to build walls, instead of bridges. He said that Austria’s recent near-turn to the far-right was prompted by worry over immigration despite low unemployment (he did not mention concerns about assimilating Muslims).
He, and speakers who preceded him, portrayed a Clinton restoration as a return to economic growth, balanced budgets, and security. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), one of the warmup speakers, promised that Bill Clinton would be “the greatest unpaid economic adviser since Joseph advised Pharaoh.” He was referring to recent promises by Hillary Clinton that her husband would be in charge of the economy if she won the election in November.
Sherman also appealed to party unity. He did not attack Hillary Clinton’s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), directly, but the message was clear: he cannot unite Democrats.
Clinton also reminded people with mail-in ballots to cast them by Tuesday.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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