Here's What Bill Clinton Is Doing Now
Bill Clinton can now add novelist to his expansive resume.
It was announced today that the former president is working on a book titled The President Is Missing with best-selling author James Patterson. The political thriller "will offer readers a unique amalgam of intrigue, suspense and behind-the-scenes global drama from the highest corridors of power," read a press release from Alfred A. Knopf and Little, Brown and Company who will jointly publish the novel in June of 2018.
Given Clinton's involvement, readers can also expect, "insider details that only a President can know."
"Working on a book about a sitting President - drawing on what I know about the job, life in the White House, and the way Washington works - has been a lot of fun," Clinton said of the project. "And working with Jim has been terrific. I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time."
Terms of the book deal have yet to be released.
In addition to his budding career as an author, Clinton appears to be back doing one of the things he does best: captivating crowds wherever he goes.
After a low-key winter of hikes and local diner visits in upstate New York, the former president recently took his travels further afield with a trip to Ireland in mid-March for the funeral of Martin McGuinness, the former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement that ended conflict in Northern Ireland while Clinton was in office in 1998.
Marc & @ChelseaClinton enjoy #GrazinDiner in Hudson, NY so for Chelea's Bday she wanted to take her parents, who posed w/fans after lunch pic.twitter.com/elSO4GPEZE
- Cindy Leinwand (@CindyLeinwand12) February 28, 2017
"Somewhere along the way, for whatever reason, he decided to give peace a chance. Some of the reasons were principled, some were practical, but he decided,” said Clinton, and in what could be perceived as a slight nudge about the U.S. political climate, he added: “I believe the only way a lasting peace can take hold and endure is if those who have legitimate griefs on both sides embrace the future together.”
His emotional eulogy marked one of his first major public appearances since Hillary’s November defeat, and the former Secretary of State herself tweeted that she was moved to tears by her husband’s remembrance.
Later during his trip, the man-about-town caused a minor scene in Dublin when he stopped into a high-end local craft and design shop for nearly an hour to browse and buy jewelry, homeware, and craft goods produced in Ireland.
His love of the Irish should hardly be surprising; last year his daughter Chelsea joked about her father possibly returning to the White House again, saying, “He likes to harken back to his Irish roots so I think he would love to be called First Laddie.”
A more pointedly political appearance came earlier in March during a speech at the Brookings Institution honoring the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Although he didn’t mention President Trump by name, Clinton alluded to the current political divide, according to Politico: “People who claim to want the nation-state are actually trying to have a pan-national movement to institutionalize separatism and division within borders all over the world,” Clinton said. “It’s like we’re all having an identity crisis at once - and it is an inevitable consequence of the economic and social changes that have occurred at an increasingly rapid pace.”
Still, despite the Clintons’ relatively low profile - unlike the Obamas, there’s been no Necker Island getaways for these two - their names aren’t far from the news. President Trump proved the trio are on a first-name basis with two tweets on March 27: “Why isn't the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary deal that allowed big Uranium to go to Russia, Russian speech... money to Bill, the Hillary Russian "reset," praise of Russia by Hillary, or Podesta Russian Company. Trump Russia story is a hoax. #MAGA!”
Noted music fan Clinton also paid tribute to Chuck Berry, who died on March 18 at age 90. "Hillary and I loved Chuck Berry for as long as we can remember," Clinton wrote in a statement. "The man was inseparable from his music – both were utterly original and distinctly American.” The Clintons weren’t merely fair-weather fans of the rock legend, either; Berry played at both Clinton inaugurations and was awarded a Kennedy Center honor.
Even as he slowly emerges from a bit of hibernation, the former president will eventually find himself - or rather, a few very convincing lookalikes - on digital screens nationwide. The History network announced a new scripted anthology series about historical moments around the presidents, and the first storyline explored will be Clinton’s impeachment. And in February, Ryan Murphy revealed the fourth edition of American Crime Story shooting later this year will center around the Monica Lewinsky scandal. One thing’s for certain: whoever snags the role of 42 better start polishing his oratory skills.
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