Tammy Wynette Wanted to Go ‘Toe to Toe’ With Hillary Clinton After ‘Stand By Your Man’ Remark
Who could forget when former President Bill Clinton was kicking off his first presidential campaign while fighting against rumors of infidelity? If you’ve forgotten, the year was 1992. And the Clintons appeared on 60 Minutes to tell the American people not to get distracted by their personal life.
But Hillary Clinton used the name of country music icon Tammy Wynette while explaining her position. And some observers, including Wynette, perceived the then-future First Lady as implying something negative about the First Lady of Country.
Hillary Clinton said she wasn’t ‘some little woman, standing by her man like Tammy Wynette’
Hillary Clinton made her first appearance on major national media when she sat beside Bill Clinton for his 1992 interview with 60 Minutes. This was before the press saga that was his famous affair with Monica Lewinsky, which broke in 1998.
The claims addressed on 60 Minutes involved a former television anchor who claimed her relationship with the one-time Governor of Arkansas lasted more than a decade and came with advantages, like a job as an administrative assistant in a state agency (People).
For her part, Hillary Clinton expressed sympathy for the individual: “When this woman first got caught up in these charges, I felt as I felt about all of these women … that they had just been minding their own business, and they got hit by a meteor.”
Later, she called to mind Wynette and her song “Stand By Your Man,” but not in a way she seemed to relate to. “You know I’m not sittin’ here as some little woman, standing by my man like Tammy Wynette. I’m sittin’ here because I love him,” she later explained. “… I respect him, and I honor what he’s been through and what we’ve been through together.”
Tammy Wynette told Hillary Clinton they could go ‘toe to toe’ on ‘any forum’
Wynette was offended by the “caustic remark” when she saw the interview (AP). Her fifth and last husband, George Richey, watched it with her, sharing she was “totally speechless.″
He added, ″It was totally off base.″
But Wynette eventually found the words she wanted to say to Clinton and put them in a written statement. She started by saying she insulted her and “several million” people who love “Stand By Your Man.”
She added, “I believe you have offended every true country music fan and every person who has made it on their own with no one to take them to a White House.”
″I would like you to appear with me on any forum, including networks, cable or talk shows and stand toe to toe with me,” Wynette declared. “I can assure you, in spite of your education, you will find me to be just as bright as yourself.”
Hillary Clinton was sorry if Tammy Wynette felt like she hurt her feelings
Hillary Clinton was at a meeting with the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial board in Colorado when she heard about Wynette’s reaction (AP). ″I didn’t mean to hurt Tammy Wynette as a person,″ she said.
″I happen to be a country-western fan. If she feels like I’ve hurt her feelings,” she added, “I’m sorry about that.″
Notably, Wynette didn’t always stand by her men. She divorced four husbands, dated Burt Reynolds, and died while married to Richey in 1998. On the other hand, Bill and Hillary Clinton have been married since 1975.
