Bill Clinton says he’s never before been so concerned about the country’s foundational future, lamenting there’s a “fair chance” that the United States could “completely lose our constitutional democracy.”
The former president appeared Wednesday on CBS’s “The Late Late Show” and responded to a question from host James Corden that alluded to Donald Trump’s presidency without mentioning the ex-commander in chief by name. Corden asked Clinton how he stays “so positive in what has been a very, very dark few years.”
While saying that witnessing his grandchildren grow up makes it “impossible to be pessimistic about the future,” Clinton added, “Now, you shouldn’t be Pollyanna.”
“I actually think there’s a fair chance that we could completely lose our constitutional democracy for a couple of decades if we keep making — if we make bad decisions,” Clinton, 75, said.
“I’m not naive about this. I’ve been in a lot of fights. I’ve lost some, won a bunch. I’ve been elated and heartbroken,” he continued.
“But I’ve never before been as worried about the structure of our democratic form of government,” the 42nd president told Corden.
Clinton’s remarks come a day after a poll found that nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. might “cease to be a democracy in the future.” Fifty-five percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans surveyed in the Yahoo News-YouGov poll released Wednesday said they believe the country will “likely” not be a democracy one day.
Clinton said that he’s holding out hope his concerns don’t become a reality.
“So far, every time we were faced with our own undoing, our conscious kicked in and we stepped away from the brink,” he said.
“And I kind of think that’s what will happen here, but I don’t know when or how.”
Clinton advised Americans to “be vigilant,” telling the audience the country has to “stand up for what we believe in.”
“And don’t return hatred with hatred,” he said.