Heroes in Business - Bill Clinton is interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances Heroes show amfm

Episode Date: April 5, 2024

Bill Clinton is interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances Heroes show amfm. They cover all the questions you want to know about from bucket lists, and future goals to how much power is afforded in office.  Be sure to listen to the interview in full for a special surprise.

Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and find out more about Alliances, visit www.alliances.com. Now, back to our super host, David Kogan, founder of Alliances. Well, good morning. That's right. This show is all about heroes, those that are making a difference in their community, building their community. And today, oh my gosh, you know what, we've had a lot of guests on, but wait to hear who we have on now. He is the former President of the United States, so you're probably trying to figure out which one. Let me give you another clue, 42nd President of the United States. Still not sure? Oversaw the country's longest peacetime economic expansion.

That's right. President, you ready for this? Bill Clinton. So good morning to you, Bill. You're the 42nd president of the United States. And now you could be the first, I think we call it, gentleman of the United States as your wife, Hillary, is running for president. How will it feel to possibly be back in the White House? Well, you know, I think, I mean, just being in the White House, again, if it happens, and it's certainly not a sure thing, but it would be amazing. You know, if nothing else, I would know my way around without bumping into things. Sure, sir. Certainly.

It would truly be an honor to serve the people and be part of the executive branch again. That is for sure. Now, there must be so much pressure being the commander-in-chief of the greatest country in the world. Tell us, though, does the president really have the ability to launch nuclear weapons on a single command? Well, it is a bit of a chain of command. And I mean, it's, I have to say, it's a bit classified as to the exact procedure. But once all of the various protocols have been followed and so on, it is the president that makes the ultimate decision on whether to fire those. But heaven forbid, you know, I don't think we're ever going to have to do that, God willing.

Now, I know you've done a gazillion interviews on every channel, every station all over the world. gazillion interviews on every channel, every station all over the world. You're known for your humanitarian efforts and your post-presidency doing so much for the community. But I must ask you, share with our listeners maybe what's one question that you've never been asked that you Well, probably that one. I have been asked pretty much every question I can imagine. And, you know, one question that no one has ever asked me is, what is the first, very first job that you had of any kind, you know, part-time or whatever? And that is one question I've never been asked. And also, another one is, what was your first saxophone? What was the brand of your first saxophone? Those are great questions.

Let me ask the first one, then. What was your first job? First job ever. Well, believe it or not, I was in college and had a couple of part-time jobs. But my very first paid job was, believe it or not, working in the dining hall and cleaning off the plates and the trays as they came in and occasionally cleaning the bathrooms. And so, yeah, that was my first part-time job. Now, you've also received your undergraduate degree from Georgetown. You're a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. You attended Yale Law School. You taught for a while, and then you

got into government in your home state of Arkansas. But what inspired you? What inspired you to go into government or politics? I mean, everybody's watching every single move that you make, everything that you say, everywhere that you go. Well, you make it sound like an ugly thankless pursuit. No, I'm just kidding. But, well, you know, public service is something that is definitely a labor of love. And, you know, it's something that obviously, if one goes into the private sector, one can make a lot more higher income. And so it is a labor of

love. And that is the upside. And the downside is that every aspect of your life is going to be examined. You know, you've got to just be absolutely squeaky clean. And I guess we all have our faults. But I guess that the downside is just having everything in your life examined inside and out. If you could be any past president of the United States besides yourself, who would that be? Well, as you may have heard, I had the opportunity to shake Mr. Kennedy's hand when I was 17 years old, and I was just a kid. I would say that my favorite, though, I'd want to be, despite the fact that he was Republican, Abe Lincoln would be the one I would choose.

Incredible. Abe Lincoln. And you're listening to Alliances Heroes. Are you a hero in business? Go to alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. That's right. The place where entrepreneurs align. And we have President Bill Clinton on the air.

President Bill Clinton. So as president, everyone knows you, and it's been widely publicized. You used to like to go out exercising with the Secret Service, stop at different establishments for a snack at different places. But I've always wondered, does the president of the United States need to carry a wallet? Now, that is a great question. Now, believe it or not, you know, I'm not allowed to carry any kind of or use any kind of a credit card or anything like that for obvious security reasons. I could carry cash, but by and large, everything was taken care of by one of the security detail or the assistance. And of course, that was all expense to the taxpayers and the GAO, the government accounting office.

Now, obviously, if we were going to McDonald's, we were saving the taxpayers a lot of money as opposed to going to, say, a place like the Palm. Right. Certainly, certainly. So take us back. I've got just a few more questions for you. I know we're slowly coming up here on time and certainly love to speak with you again. But take us back in time when you first learned about government, President Bill Clinton. At what time did you ever think you would become president of the United States? Well, believe it or not, that actually happened back in school. And I had a, I guess, I actually did run for student president, and I actually lost. And believe it or not,

the reason I lost is they said that I was too political, if you can believe that. So I've always had an interest in the government. And, you, and this is definitely, as you said, the greatest country in the world. And it's just a very intricate government in the way it works and the three branches of the judiciary and the legislative and the executive, the way they work together, it truly is a unique system in the world. And I'm just so happy I was able to be a part of it and hopefully get to be part of it again. Well, we've only got a little less than a minute left, but you've held the highest position in government you could possibly attain. You've been super successful. But again, this is really less than a minute left, though. But what's on your bucket list what is something that you have not done yet? I have never been the first gentleman in the

White House and that is something that is on my bucket list to do. You know I mean I got to tell you and I don't normally say but it you just sound a little bit different on the phone than you do on TV. Well, I'm not feeling very well right now, to be honest with you. I have a bit of a cold. And I haven't never asked anybody this, but it's just what, you know, how do we know who you are for sure? In other words, how would we know for sure that this is actually Bill Clinton? Well, I mean, you called me, right? Yes. I didn't call you. I didn't call you. You called me. That is right. But I mean,

what other perhaps proof could you give us? Because I just want to make sure that this truly is President Bill Clinton. Well, that's right. Maybe I should fly over there and do this in person. You know what? Certainly. And we would love to have you in Arizona, so make sure that you come here to Arizona, and we'll be able to see you in person and stuff like that. Is there anything else that you would like to add to this interview?

Because we're going to be wrapping it up here real soon. Is there anything else that you would like to add? No, I just want to say it's truly an honor to be on. And I would say also that when you get out to vote this November, make sure you vote for Hillary Clinton. Well, thank you so much for your time, President Bill Clinton. It has absolutely been incredible. so much for your time, President Bill Clinton. It has absolutely been incredible. What a show today. President of the United States,

Bill Clinton. Bill, what website can people reach you at? That would be at williamclintonfoundation.com. Are you sure about that? I don't know if that site's valid. Are you sure about that? I don't know if that site's valid.

You can certainly try it. I don't know about that. All right, this sounds like somebody else that we had on as an interview. Does the name, by any chance, Dan Ninen, sound familiar? Oh, you mean the very famous comedian, the Indian-Japanese guy? I've heard of him. Yeah, he's pretty incredible, isn't he? He's one of the funniest comedians I have ever heard in my life.

Well, that's incredible. Well, thank you so much again for your time today, and you have a great day. All right, you too. Thank you so much. This is Glue, the producer of the Alliance's Hero Show. After further research, we have determined that that interview you just heard was actually with comedian Dan Ninen. You can reach him at ComedianDan.com.

Thank you again for listening to Alliance's Heroes.