Whether he meant to or not, former President Bill Clinton gave a surprisingly salient explanation for why his wife, Hillary Clinton, fell in the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump.

The former secretary of state has blamed a number of factors for her loss — including Facebook, sexism, and of course Russia — yet Bill Clinton suggested in a Thursday story about Osama bin Laden that it might have been a much simpler reason: a lack of respect for her enemy.



"One of the things that gets you into bad decision-making is dehumanizing and underestimating your adversaries"



At a forum for a forthcoming novel co-authored with James Patterson, former President Bill Clinton says he warned then-President-elect Bush about Osama bin Laden. pic.twitter.com/imPWanlp05 — NBC News (@NBCNews) June 7, 2018



"One of the things that gets you into bad decision-making is dehumanizing and underestimating your adversaries," Clinton said Thursday during an event for his soon-to-be-released novel.

He recalled a 2000 transition period interview with former President George W. Bush in which he said, "I know you think that Saddam Hussein is the biggest security threat facing this country, but I promise you Osama bin Laden is."

"I said, 'This guy is so smart, and he comes from the richest family in Saudi Arabia,'" Clinton continued. "He could have lived a cushy and hypocritical life, but instead he's living in a cave somewhere and has to have dialysis, so you know he believes in what he's doing."

"Better to respect your adversaries if you want to defeat him."