The Untold Truth Of Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton has long been a recognizable figure in American politics. She first came into prominence as the first lady when her husband, Bill Clinton, was elected to the U.S. presidency in 1993. After working as a lawyer in Arkansas, Hillary moved into politics when she was sworn into the Senate in 2001. In 2008, she ran as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee but lost to Barack Obama. Then, during Obama's term in office, she served as Secretary of State.
In 2016, she entered the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee and won. However, in the 2016 election, she lost to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who became the 45th president of the U.S. Since losing the election, Hillary has stepped back from her presidential dreams and has turned to writing both fiction and non-fiction instead (via Britannica).
But, of course, most people already know Hillary's story — after all, it's a very public one. Nevertheless, there may be a few things you still don't know about the famous politician, former first lady, mother, and grandmother. Here is the untold truth of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Hillary Clinton once wanted to be an astronaut
Even though we all know Hillary Clinton as the woman who almost became the first female president of the United States, there was a time when her ambitions were very, very different. It turns out, as a teen, Clinton had dreams of traveling to space.
Sadly, however, the eager young Clinton discovered that NASA only accepted men at the time. "When we decided, under President Kennedy's leadership, that our nation was going to go to the moon and we were going to have an astronaut program, I wanted to be an astronaut," Clinton said in a speech in 2012 (via The Washington Post). "So when I was about 13, I wrote to NASA and asked what I needed to do to try to be an astronaut."
Clinton was shocked when she got a response from NASA saying there never had been and never would be any female astronauts. "I was just crestfallen," she said. While Clinton didn't become the first woman in space, since then, she certainly has proven to NASA that girls can do just about anything they want to do.
While studying at Wellesley College, Hillary Clinton and her friends called themselves 'wonks'
In 2016, Hillary Clinton sent out a campaign email entitled, "We need wonks." And, in a campaign video, the caption read, "Hillary wonks out with a nurse in New Jersey." Many of her supporters were confused by the little-known term. As Bustle explained, the term is used to refer to someone who is obsessive about minute details of political policy. And, while Clinton's 2016 campaign centered around the idea of "wonks," this wasn't the first time she had associated with it.
In fact, according to the biography "Hillary Rodham Clinton: The Evolution of a First Lady," Clinton has been a self-proclaimed "wonk" since young adulthood. According to one former classmate, Clinton and her friends would spend hours debating politics in the student dining hall. It wasn't "gossip about boys," the classmate said, "but about ways to solve the problems of the world." Well, it sounds like Clinton never really left her "wonk" days behind!
Hillary Clinton can't sing
Hillary Clinton may be good at getting up on stage and speaking, but when it comes to singing, it's a different story. "I can't carry a tune for the life of me," she told Us Weekly. "My choir teacher used to ask me to mouth the words." In fact, when Clinton used to sing to her own daughter, Chelsea, when she was little, apparently, the then-little girl also asked her to stop, saying, "No sing, Mommy, no sing."
Even though Clinton is a self-professed terrible singer, she still somehow gathered the courage to sing "Lean On Me" during a cameo on "Saturday Night Live" alongside Kate McKinnon, who famously played Clinton on the show. "It didn't go as badly as I feared. All of my friends from literally grade school and high school were, you know, just emailing me like crazy, 'I can't believe you sang,'" she joked to "Today."
She was once a Republican
It might be hard to believe, but before Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee, she was a staunch teenage Republican. Growing up in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Clinton was raised to be a Republican — and, according to people who knew her during those days, she took it quite seriously.
As one Park Ridge resident told Chicago magazine, "In Park Ridge in the 1960s, it wasn't really accepted to be a Democrat. Everybody was a Republican." An old friend of Clinton's added that, as a teen, she and Clinton had read Republican Barry Goldwater's book "The Conscience of a Conservative" and "found it very striking." The pair went on to walk around school in "Goldwater Girl" sashes, proclaiming their support for the Republican politician.
Despite her early political convictions, Clinton eventually moved to the left and even became a "hippie" by the time she entered college. Clearly, her Republican days were already a thing of the past.
Hillary Clinton named her daughter after a Joni Mitchell / Judy Collins song
Hillary and Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Victoria, was born in 1980. It turns out, the inspiration for her name originally came from the Joni Mitchell song "Chelsea Morning," a song which, in turn, was inspired by New York City's Chelsea Hotel. But the Clintons weren't actually inspired by Mitchell's version of the song — instead, they were inspired by Judi Collins' cover of it.
In his biography, "In My Life," Bill recalled that he and Hillary had been in the area of Chelsea in London on a quick visit when inspiration struck. They happened to hear Collins' version of the song playing on a speaker outside. "We agreed on the spot that if we ever had a daughter we'd call her Chelsea," Bill said (via JoniMitchell.com). According to The New York Times, the couple's insistence on describing the song as Collins' song rather than Mitchell's song even led to a low-key media controversy!
She married Bill Clinton in a low-key ceremony at home
You may have assumed that the future president and first lady of the United States would have a pretty elaborate wedding — but, for Bill and Hillary Clinton, things weren't quite so grand.
The pair started dating while both studying at Yale. Eventually, Hillary moved to Arkansas to see "what this relationship meant" to her (via Oprah Daily), as she said in the documentary "Hillary." Shortly after, they got engaged.
In 1975, the couple tied the knot in a very understated ceremony — that took place in their living room! Vic Nixon, a local minister, officiated the ceremony. Hillary's dress cost only $53, and there were just 15 guests. The couple did later have a more extravagant backyard party with many more guests. As for a honeymoon, the pair enjoyed some time in Acapulco, Mexico — along with Hillary's entire family (via Brides). Talk about an unusual wedding!
Hillary Clinton struggled with infertility due to endometriosis
Many people have speculated on the reason why the Clintons only had one child. Their daughter, Chelsea, was born in 1980, but even up until the '90s, Hillary Clinton expressed a wish to have more kids. "I must say we're hoping that we have another child," she said at the age of 48 to Time. "I would be surprised but not disappointed. My friends would be appalled, I'm sure. But I think it would be terrific" (via the Independent). Clinton went on to explain that she had trouble conceiving her first child and that she and her husband had even considered adoption.
While Clinton has never openly discussed her particular fertility issue, it is widely reported that she has a condition known as endometriosis, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, tends to have symptoms that include abdominal pains, heavy periods, nausea, and fatigue. As her biographer, Carl Bernstein, explains in "A Woman in Charge," after a long struggle, the couple eventually arranged to see a fertility specialist in 1979. Luckily, she learned she was pregnant just before the appointment (via On the Issues).
The politician is a huge fan of hot sauce
Just like the rest of us, Hillary Clinton has a few idiosyncrasies — especially when it comes to food. It turns out, the almost-president has a big soft spot for hot sauce! In fact, she's spoken about her obsession in multiple interviews. "I love to snack on hot chili peppers, and I put hot sauce on everything," she once told Us Weekly.
And, when asked on a radio show what she always carried in her purse, Clinton immediately replied, "Hot sauce." She added, "Because I think it keeps my immune system strong. I think hot sauce is good for you, in moderation" (via Time). To find out more, Time reached out to Clinton. Apparently, the former presidential candidate's preferred brand is Ninja Squirrel, the Whole Foods brand, with a Sriracha flavor. It's pretty clear that Clinton is a total hot sauce fan girl!
Hillary Clinton once made headlines for kissing the wife of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
In 1999, Hillary Clinton was photographed kissing Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat shortly after she made a controversial statement about Israel. After photos were soon plastered all over the front pages, it was suggested that Clinton supported the anti-Israel remarks.
However, as Clinton later explained, the kiss was intended to be a simple formality. "Some of you may or may have not been to the Middle East," she said during a 2000 campaign trip to the Bell Park Jewish Center in Queens, "but a kiss is a handshake." She went on, "I was in a very difficult position, and I am the first to admit that. I did what I was expected to do" (via The New York Times)." Later, Clinton also made a statement about Arafat's speech, saying she "condemned" the anti-Israel sentiment and thought her remarks had been "outrageous."
She is a Grammy winner
Even though Hillary Clinton isn't exactly a talented singer, she is a Grammy Award winner. Say what? In 1997, Clinton took home a Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album for her recording of the book "It Takes a Village." And, seven years later, Clinton received another nomination for her recording of her book "Living History."
In her acceptance speech in 1997, Clinton expressed her delight at winning the award. "I'm amazed," she said. "I didn't even know that Grammys were given to tone deaf singers like me." She went on to thank her publishers and her family "who lived through the process with me." She then spoke about the importance of the arts, calling them "not a luxury but a necessity for the American culture identity and experience."
It seems like Clinton isn't just a talented politician and public speaker. She's a talented recording artist, too — even if she can't sing!
Her favorite book is a Dostoyevsky novel about staying open-minded
Hillary Clinton, it seems, is an avid reader. According to Bustle, she's a fan of writers that include Alice Munro, Barbara Kingsolver, Pablo Neruda, and Maya Angelou, to name just a few. But, when asked by an interviewer for The New York Times in 2014 about her favorite book ever, Clinton said it was "The Brothers Kalamazoo" by Russian author Fodor Dostoyevsky, explaining that she had always remembered it after reading it years earlier.
The book centers on two brothers and their relationships with their father. According to Clinton, the book contains a powerful message about "the dangers of certitude." As she explained to The New Yorker, "One of the greatest threats we face is from people who believe they are absolutely, certainly right about everything" (via Bustle). This book, she explained, helped her see that we should always keep our minds open and never be entirely certain about anything. Isn't that the truth?
Hillary Clinton practices yoga and breathing to stay centered
While it may be difficult to picture Hillary Clinton in a downward dog, in her spare time, that might be exactly where you would find her. In a 2016 interview with Us Weekly, she revealed, "I do yoga. Not enough."
And, after losing the 2016 election, Clinton's yoga routine seemed to get even more serious. In her book "What Happened," Clinton mentioned that doing "alternate nostril breathing," a common yoga breathing technique, had helped her stay centered after the crushing loss. Later, during an appearance on "Anderson Cooper 360," she went into more detail about the breathing technique. "I would highly recommend it," she said, adding, "I can only say from my personal experience that if you're sitting cross-legged on the yoga mat, and you're doing it, and you're really trying to inhale and hold it, and then have a long exhale, it is very relaxing" (per CNN).
As for her favorite pose? Well, as she told People, "Warrior II is my favorite. It doubles as a great power pose." Sounds like Clinton has found the perfect way to stay calm and focused after a pretty horrible (and very public) defeat.
The former presidential candidate wrote a book with her daughter
Hillary Clinton doesn't only share similar looks with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton — it seems they also share similar interests and opinions. One of their main shared interests? Empowering women. In fact, the mother-daughter feminist duo even wrote a book together called "The Book of Gutsy Women" about a series of incredible, brave women throughout history.
Hillary explained to Stylist that she'd been hoping to write the book ever since Chelsea was young. "The idea has been around ever since Chelsea was a little girl," she said. "We've always talked about inspirational role models, heroines, people who inspired us."
For the most part, the mother-daughter co-writers got along well while working together — although they did have some disagreements about which women to include in the book. "We had some vigorous conversations," Hillary told Stylist. "The publisher kept coming back and saying, 'We have to cut some more.' Oh my gosh. It was horrible." And, as the pair joked to The Times, the only thing that made working together difficult was Hillary's tendency to write her parts in longhand, which Chelsea confessed she found pretty irritating!
Hillary Clinton loves all kinds of music — but especially The Beatles
It turns out, Hillary Clinton is quite the music buff. In 2006, Clinton spoke to the New York Post about some of her favorite songs she had on her iPod Shuffle. "I've got everything – a total smorgasbord," she said. Her playlist included "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "Beautiful Day" by U2, "Take It to the Limit" by The Eagles, and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. She also mentioned liking The Rolling Stones as well as the genres of Motown and classical music.
In 2009, Clinton spoke about her musical tastes again in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, this time again citing The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. At the same time, the former first lady has also referenced pop singers like Beyoncé, Demi Lovato (via Inverse), and Adele as some of her favorites (per Us Weekly).
In 2016, Clinton once again name dropped The Beatles. "I am, and always will be, a Beatles fan," she told Us Weekly. It sounds like, while Clinton does have eclectic musical tastes, at heart, she's just a diehard Beatles fan girl. As she told the Post, "I'm a child of the '60s and '70s." And who can blame her?!