Vintage Footage of Bill Clinton Speaking at a DNC 44 Years Ago Resurfaces

As Bill Clinton spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, footage of his first such speech 44 years ago has resurfaced on social media.
On Wednesday, senior ESPN writer Don Van Natta Jr. posted the short clip on X, writing, “Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton speaks at the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 12, 1980. He was 33.”
The video was taken during Clinton’s first year as the governor of Arkansas and his first full DNC speech, having given just a brief speech at the 1976 convention, according to ABC News.
In the resurfaced footage, Clinton can be seen saying, “We must speak to the millions of Americans who are not here, who do not even watch us on television or listen to us, who do not care, who will not bother to vote, or if they do, will probably not vote for us. For it is these people who will decide the election of 1980, and they cannot be moved by the symbols and accomplishments of the Democratic Party of the past.”
The clip, originally posted by NBC correspondent Steve Kornacki in 2020, has received over 260,000 views in total. The most recent comments reference Clinton’s many accomplishments as a politician before becoming president.
Clinton was the governor of Arkansas for 11 years and 11 months in total, the second longest run in the state’s history. He was also the second youngest governor the state had seen.
Footage of a more recent moment from Clinton also made the rounds on social media on Wednesday. A user who goes by Bushido Brown posted a clip of a 2006 interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace in which Clinton defended his record regarding Al-Qaeda.
In the famously combative interview, Clinton fired back at the interviewer for suggesting he didn’t do enough about Osama bin Laden.
“I didn’t get him, but at least I tried. That’s the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They ridicule me for trying; they had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried,” he says in the clip, which received 136,000 views on X.
Clinton took to the stage on Wednesday on the third night of the 2024 DNC, where he praised Kamala Harris as “the president of joy,” and made a jibe at Donald Trump’s age, saying “I’m still younger than Donald Trump.”
Clinton was elected president in 1992, and reelected in 1996. During his second term he faced impeachment relating to his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He was acquitted and served until 2001.
According to ABC News, he has spoken at 13 DNC events during his political career.
Bill Clinton’s press office has been contacted by Newsweek for comment.
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