Hillary Clinton was asked if Bill Clinton 'abused' Monica Lewinsky. Her response has ignited an important debate.

The way we look at Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky has changed a lot in 20 years. But Hillary Clinton still refuses to call it an abuse of power.

During the 2016 Election, Donald Trump tried to make an issue out of former President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs. But it’s not just Republicans who were suddenly trying to reignite the debate over Clinton’s morality nearly two decades after he left office.

In July 2018, Hillary Clinton’s successor in the Senate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said that Bill Clinton should have resigned from the White House after the Lewinsky affair.

And earlier this year, Lewinsky herself wrote an article for Vanity Fair in which she said she now considers Clinton’s sexual pursuit of her an “abuse of power.”

But one person who disagrees with that assessment is Hillary Clinton herself. And not everyone is happy with her recent comments on the subject.

In a new interview, Hillary dismissed Lewinsky’s claim. Did she go too far? Or, is it the media who is going too far by continuing to ask her to share her opinion on the actions of her husband as president, rather than asking him those questions directly?

In her interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Clinton was asked if her husband should have resigned and responded:

Clinton: “Absolutely not.”

Reporter: “It wasn’t an abuse of power?”

Clinton: “No. No.”

The reporter then begins saying that some people argue there’s no way someone with as much power as a president could have a consensual relationship with an intern, before Clinton cuts him off to say: “Who was an adult.”

Clinton then tries to pivot the conversation into her own question about why people aren’t investigating the allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.

It was a tense and awkward moment. And former Obama adviser David Axelrod may have put it best:

Just guessing this isn’t the story Democratic candidates were looking for in the homestretch of the midterms. https://t.co/pxYtVnI0UG

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) October 15, 2018

Hillary doesn’t have to attack Bill. But she shouldn't be required to defend or speak for him either.

Her defense of Bill Clinton’s actions stirred up a passionate controversy online with fair points being all around:

I strongly disagree with Clinton that adulthood neutralizes power imbalances in the workplace. That's simply inaccurate. https://t.co/5ZlD4Kbjme

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 15, 2018

private citizen Hillary Clinton sits down for interview, is asked abt *her husband's* affair 20+ yrs ago.

Trump, sitting US president, sits down for interview is not asked abt his many, many affairs from 10 yrs ago.

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) October 15, 2018

Talking about Lewinsky is clearly difficult for Hillary. It involves her husband. She gets defensive. But until & unless, the Clintons have a coming to Jesus, acknowledge & show remorse for how badly Bill acted, this will keep haunting them. In 2018, ppl don’t look the other way.

— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) October 15, 2018

Clinton was her 49-year-old boss (and POTUS) and @MonicaLewinsky was a 22-year-old intern. It *was* an abuse of power. This actually shouldn't be so hard.

Hillary isn't responsible for what her husband did, but she should be able to recognize it as an abuse of power. https://t.co/SQfECSwor2

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) October 15, 2018

I respect my friend @Shakestweetz's intellectual honesty here, knowing she has been a fierce Hillary Clinton defender. And I agree when she says "I also strongly disagree with continuing to ask women, be they spouses or co-workers, to answer for the behavior of men. Ask the men." https://t.co/KjYrYS1zCo

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) October 15, 2018

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