Former President Bill Clinton made an early Thursday appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where he discussed gun reform initiatives and plans to relaunch the Clinton Global Initiative.
Corden did, however, inquire as to what kept Clinton so upbeat. While Clinton spoke of his children and grandkids and their ambitions for the future, he also expressed concern about the health of democracy."I honestly believe that if we make bad decisions, we have a good possibility of losing our constitutional democracy for a couple of decades," Clinton remarked. "I am not naive in this regard. I've been in quite a few brawls. I've lost and won a lot of games. I've felt happy and sad at the same time. But I've never been more concerned about our democratic form of government's structure."
"Every time we were faced with our own undoing, our conscience kicked in and we moved away from the cliff," he continued. And I believe something similar will happen here, although I'm not sure when or how. In the meanwhile, we should be watchful, stand up for what we believe in, and avoid responding to hatred with hatred."
His remarks come as the House Judiciary Committee holds public hearings on January 6th, which members claim will reveal how Donald Trump and his associates prepared to change the results of the 2020 presidential election, culminating in the attack on the Capitol.
Clinton also spoke about the Senate's proposed gun legislation, which includes funds to states to enact "red flag" laws and extended background checks for people aged 18 to 21 who want to buy guns. However, Corden believes the agreement does not go far enough.
"I'll never be able to wrap my head around it as someone who didn't grow up here," Corden told Clinton. "Why is it so difficult for Americans to reach a consensus on this issue?"
"While there was an overwhelming majority for commonsense gun safety regulations — there was when I was president — the gun culture is sufficiently robust that there are more people against doing something than for it if it is a voting issue," Clinton responded.
His argument was that, while some voters support politicians based on their support for gun rights, this isn't always the case for those who support gun control.
"It needs to be a voting issue for you if you want this America," Clinton added.
Many gun owners, according to Clinton, are "very skeptical of government, easy to scare, and they don't want to take a chance."
In 1994, Clinton signed the most recent major gun control legislation, an assault weapons prohibition. However, it came at a political price. He told Corden that it was a "brutal fight" in Congress, and that then-House Speaker Tom Foley told him, "If you pass this, I will lose." Yes, he did. In 2004, the ban was allowed to expire.
The Senate agreement, Clinton added, "doesn't go far enough," but it's "not unimportant either." He believes that enacting and enforcing red flag legislation in every state will "help."
He also gave some pointers on how to communicate with folks on the opposing side of the debate.
"Don't be scared to talk to people, and don't talk down to them if you want to do this," Clinton advised. "Don't think that just because you see someone like Mr. [Wayne] LaPierre [the NRA's CEO] yelling on TV that everyone on the other side is the same… Rather than telling them they're stupid if they don't agree with you, ask for their assistance. "All we have to do now is talk to each other again."
Check out the video below:
Clinton also discussed intentions to revive the Clinton Global Initiative.
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