Former President Bill Clinton, speaking with a raspy voice, said in a Wednesday night address to delegates that he might not be able to attend future Democratic conventions as stunned viewers noticed his hands shaking during the speech. Throughout his speech, he frequently contemplated his own mortality.
Clinton echoed the sense of relief within the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, saying a "load's off our shoulders" while commending Kamala Harris and applauding President Joe Biden for stepping aside. Clinton, 78, served as a prelude to vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, accompanied by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Clinton Looked Unwell
However, many on social media noticed that one of his comments suggested that time might finally be catching up with the man from Hope, Arkansas.
"I want to say this from the bottom of my heart, I have no idea how many more of these I'll be able to come to. I started in '76 and I've been everyone since — no, '72. Lord, I'm getting old," he said in an at-times extemporaneous 27-minute speech.
"Let's cut to the chase, I am too old to gild the lily. Two days ago, I turned 78, the oldest man in my family for four generations," he said.
Amid strong applause, he joked, "and the only personal vanity I want to assert is that I'm still younger than Donald Trump," who turned 78 in June.
Viewers tuning into the Democratic National Convention were surprised by Clinton's aged appearance and subdued energy, sparking reactions online.
"Clinton looks way beyond his years. He is speaking slowly, raspy shaky voice... he has aged in every way," one person wrote on X.
"What tomb did they drag Clinton out of? He barely has a voice for gods sake," wrote another user on X.
"Clinton has shaky hands as he speaks. He should join Joe and go to the nursing home," another added.
A fourth viewer wrote, "Bill Clinton has lost his fastball and is sucking the energy out of the United Center."
Another added: "Is Bill Clinton's voice going to last through the speech? He could turn this convention into a super spreader."
Clinton Can Still Motivate Democrats
The 42nd president commended the outgoing President Biden, who is currently vacationing at a donor's $37 million ranch in California, saying that "he willingly gave up political power." He notably did not address that Biden's decision was influenced by a Democratic revolt over concerns about his cognitive abilities.
"I want to thank him for his courage, compassion, his class, his service, his sacrifice," the ex-president said. "He kept the faith and he's infected a lot of the rest of us."
At one point, he subtly acknowledged that Democrats were relieved to move on from Biden and his declining poll numbers against Trump, saying party members were "happy" because "we feel like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders."
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, whose first name Clinton mispronounced several times, and Minnesota Gov. Walz are "two leaders with quintessentially American yet still remarkable life stories—only possible here. Their journeys began in communities, courtrooms, and classrooms," he remarked.
The well-known fast food enthusiast also referenced Harris' previous job at McDonald's, a point that convention speakers have highlighted throughout the week. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, revealed on Tuesday that he too once worked at McDonald's.
"I'll be so happy when she actually enters the White House as president because she will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonald's," Clinton joked about the vice president.
Clinton also criticized Trump, calling him vain and "a good actor," while cautioning that the Republican nominee could prevail if Democrats slip up. He subtly referenced his wife Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 election.
"He's like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage like I did, trying to get his lungs open by singing, 'me, me, me, me'," Clinton said of Trump.
"We've seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it couldn't happen — when people got distracted by phony issues or overconfident."
Meanwhile, Shapiro described Trump as "a man with no guardrails" in his speech and called on viewers to "defend our democracy" by voting for Harris.
