Gingrich critiques Bill Clinton’s DNC speech: It ‘didn’t have the fire’

Ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said in an interview that aired Sunday that former President Clinton lacked energy during his speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

“I thought the speech was pretty good, but he delivered it as though he was very tired,” Gingrich said on “The Cats Roundtable” to radio host John Catsimatidis. “You didn’t have the fire.”

Clinton spoke at this year’s DNC in Chicago, taking aim at former President Trump multiple times during his speech over topics like the Republican nominee’s recent penchant for mentioning the fictional character Hannibal Lecter. Clinton, who has been historically considered excellent at public speaking, did notably have a hoarse voice during his speech.

When discussing the race between Vice President Harris and Trump in his speech, Clinton said it is “a pretty clear choice: Kamala Harris for the people or the other guy who has proved, even more than his first go-around, that he’s about ‘Me, Myself, and I.’”

“I didn’t get that kind of a driving, exciting, dancing-with-the-crowd that you used to get out of a Clinton speech,” Gingrich said. “And that surprised me.”

Clinton and Gingrich’s time as president and House Speaker overlapped in the late 1990s. The two have still remained influential in their respective parties to this day. 

Other former White House residents who spoke at this week’s DNC included former President Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Hill has reached out to Clinton’s office.