Bill and Hillary Clinton were the quintessential elderly couple in the coffee shop trying to order the Early Bird special during their appearance in Detroit on Friday.
Bill had several instances where he couldn’t hear the question from moderator Ben Stiller, and asked him to repeat it. A couple times, Hillary jumped in, like the wife repeating what the waitress told them about the daily specials.
While throwing the pair a series of softball questions, Stiller asked Bill, “Do you have a photographic memory?”
“A what?” the 72-year-old Bill responded, before understanding him.
He wrapped up his answer by saying, “But I don’t have anything like a photographic memory, especially when I’m tired,” drawing laughs from the audience.
“I do remember your name,” he told the actor, “but it might fade before I’m done here,” before staring at the floor and scratching his neck.
Throughout the night, Bill drank from a water glass and a mug, his hand trembling as he reached for them. He would balance the glass on the arm of the chair to get a better grip. As the night wore on, they were clearly empty, but he still attempted to drink out of them.
Another time, he seemed to snort mid-sentence, before coughing several times as Stiller and Hillary spoke.
As Hillary fielded a question, Bill sat back in his chair with his head leaning back, chewing on his tongue.
“You can’t not mention that this guy Julian Assange is out of the Ecuadorian embassy. What’s your feeling about that?” Stiller asked.
“About what?” Bill asked, putting his hand up to his ear.
“About Julian Assange,” Hillary said, looking at her husband.
Again while seemingly drinking out of an empty mug, Stiller went back to Bill and asked, “You were telling me that you’ve been to every high school reunion? Uh, right? Of your high school class, almost every high school reunion,” he continued as Bill just stared at him.
As Bill leaned forward because he again couldn’t seem to hear, Hillary jumped in, “Your high school reunion…” as Stiller resumed with the question.
The special is meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, Mr. President!
The Detroit appearance was the second of several more throughout April and May.
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