Hillary Clinton

Chelsea Clinton Says Her Mother Looks for Solutions

Her speech is part of a campaign effort to show the softer side of the former first lady, senator and secretary of state

Chelsea Clinton on Thursday said she has had a "front-row seat" to watch how Hillary Clinton serves.

In a speech at the Democratic National Convention, Chelsea Clinton described her mom as a diligent public servant who looks for solutions and dives into policy.

Chelsea Clinton said she has seen her mom surrounded by "stack of memos and reports" to review policy.

And she's seen her promise struggling mothers she'd do all she could to help them.

Chelsea Clinton says she's learned this from her mom: "Public service is about service."

She said her mother always made her feel "valued and loved," adding Hillary Clinton wants that for every child.

The younger Clinton calls that desire "the calling of her life."

U.S. & World

News from around the country and around the globe

Conjoined twin Abby Hensel is now married

Trump claims crime rates are soaring. The numbers indicate otherwise.

Chelsea Clinton notes that her parents "expected me to have opinions" — and that they taught her "to back them up with facts."

Later, the presidential nominee reflected on her daughter's growth.

"I'm so proud of being your mother, and proud of the woman you've become," Hillary Clinton said at the start of her remarks.

Earlier, Chelsea Clinton said in an interview that "this election is so important to me, because I'm now a mom. And as proud as I am of my mom, this election to me is fundamentally about my children, about Charlotte and Aidan," the former first daughter told NBC's "Today" show in an interview that aired Thursday morning. 

"And I couldn't imagine a better president for them. I couldn't imagine a better grandmother for them, either. And so I think just standing there, thinking about my children and looking at my mom, I think it's going to be overwhelming."

Chelsea Clinton's appearance comes after her father, ex-President Bill Clinton, gave a deeply personal address about his wife Tuesday night.

It's part of a campaign effort to show the softer side of the former first lady, senator and secretary of state.

"I just hope that people understand even a little more when I'm done than when I started about why I love her so much and admire her so much," she told "Today's" Matt Lauer of her speech. 

It's hardly a new role for 36-year-old Chelsea, who works for the Clinton Foundation and recently gave birth to her second child. She has been active in the campaign, as with her mother's past campaigns. She was at the convention Tuesday, as her father called her birth "the greatest moment of my life." Hillary Clinton talks about her too, often telling a story about toddler Chelsea asking her to stop singing lullabies.

Of course, Chelsea Clinton is not the only prominent daughter during this presidential campaign. Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is a leading surrogate for her father and gave an emotional speech for him last week, pledging that the two will work on issues like pay equity and affordable childcare.

The two women, New Yorkers of similar ages with high-profile parents, have been friendly in the past. Chelsea Clinton praised Ivanka Trump in a Vogue magazine story last year, saying "There's nothing skin-deep about Ivanka." While the contest between their parents has become acrimonious, Ivanka Trump said in an interview with People Magazine this week that the two were "friendly." Still, she added, "There's certainly tremendous intensity around both of our lives right now."

Chelsea Clinton commented on Ivanka Trump's convention speech during an interview on Facebook Live hosted by Glamour this week. Asked what she would say to Ivanka Trump about her comments that her father would fight for equal pay for equal work and affordable child care, Chelsea Clinton said: "How would your father do that? It's not something he has spoken about. There are no policies on any of those fronts that you mentioned."

Chelsea Clinton told "Today" she still considers Ivanka a friend. 

"And yet clearly, Ivanka and I have very different views about who we think should be our president, who we think best represents our country," she said. 

"I think it's clear that Mr. Trump is running his campaign and saying what he thinks is important in this election," Clinton said. "I think what we're seeing here in Philadelphia is a very strong contrast to that. And my mother's not engaging in divisive, bigoted rhetoric." 

Politics is the family business, so Chelsea Clinton has spent most of her life in the public eye, moving to the White House at the age of 12 after her father was elected in 1992 and heading to Stanford University with a security detail in tow. Perhaps her most high-profile moment came in 1998, when, at age 18 and during the height of her parents' marital troubles, the three were photographed walking together, with Chelsea Clinton holding both parents' hands.

Because she's lived so long in public, many voters feel they already know her, like Cynthia Doty, 65, a Clinton supporter from New York City, who said, "I think she's grown up into a really remarkable woman."

After spending time as a management consultant and as a correspondent for NBC, Chelsea Clinton now works for the Clinton Foundation and recently wrote a book for middle-school aged kids.

With husband Mark Mezvinsky, a hedge-fund manager whose parents both served in Congress, she has two children under the age of 2: Charlotte and Aidan.

Katie White, 18, of San Antonio, Texas, said she was looking forward to the speech: "I think Ivanka did a lot to help Donald Trump. It will be interesting to see what Chelsea can do."

But some Democrats are less interested.

"There's nothing relatable about her," said Quinn Symonds, 34, of Mason City, Iowa. "She's not one of us, the 99 percent."

Emma Schmit, 22, of Rockwell City, Iowa, agreed: "She's part of the one percent."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us