Ex-President Bill Clinton recovering in hospital from infection

Clinton's wife Hillary, a former secretary of state and presidential candidate, was at the hospital on Thursday night and was later seen leaving. President Joe Biden spoke with the former president, a fellow Democrat, on Friday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said.


Reuters | Washington DC | Updated: 16-10-2021 01:51 IST | Created: 16-10-2021 01:39 IST
Ex-President Bill Clinton recovering in hospital from infection
File Photo Image Credit: The book will be Clinton's fifth since leaving the White House in 2001, including his best-selling autobiography, "My Life", and most recently, his first best-selling novel, "The President Is Missing". (Wikimedia)
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Former U.S. President Bill Clinton remained in a California hospital on Friday, where he was recovering from a non-coronavirus infection three days after he was admitted. The 75-year-old, who left office in 2001, entered the University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening for the infection, according to his spokesman, Angel Urena. Clinton is "on the mend," Urena said.

"He's up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff," Urena told Reuters on Thursday. Clinton went to the hospital after suffering from fatigue and has received both IV antibiotics and fluids, his doctors said. CNN reported that his doctors believe Clinton had a urinary tract infection that spread to his bloodstream.

He has dealt with heart problems in the past, including a 2004 quadruple bypass surgery and a 2010 procedure to open a blocked artery. Clinton's wife Hillary, a former secretary of state and presidential candidate, was at the hospital on Thursday night and was later seen leaving.

President Joe Biden spoke with the former president, a fellow Democrat, on Friday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said. "President Biden and President Clinton look forward to seeing each other again soon." Jean-Pierre said. "President Biden wishes President Clinton a speedy recovery.”

Clinton served two terms in the White House from 1993 to 2001, overseeing strong economic growth while engaging in bruising political battles with his Republican opposition. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives impeached him in 1998 over his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but Clinton was acquitted by the Senate. He was only the second U.S. president to be impeached; Donald Trump would later become the third when he was impeached twice during his term.

The former Arkansas governor was known as an exceptionally talented politician, combining a folksy charm with a deep knowledge of policy issues. He defeated an incumbent president, Republican George H.W. Bush, in 1992 and then beat longtime Republican Senator Bob Dole in 1996. CNN reported that Clinton, whose lives mostly in New York state, was in California for a private event for his foundation.

Since leaving office, he has become a cheerleader for his wife, who was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York in 2000. She unsuccessfully sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and then won the party's nod in 2016, when she eventually lost to Trump despite winning the national popular vote.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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