Bill Clinton Didn’t Sleep for ‘Years’ After 2016 Election

“I couldn’t sleep for two years.”

That’s the shocking admission former President Bill Clinton makes in his new memoir, Citizen: My Life After the White House. At 78, Clinton is finally coming clean about the rage and frustration that consumed him after his wife Hillary Clinton’s stunning loss in the 2016 presidential election—a defeat he still calls “America’s darkest election.”

“I was so angry, I wasn’t fit to be around,” Clinton writes. “I apologize to everyone who had to endure my outbursts and endless complaints. I just couldn’t let it go.”

Clinton doesn’t mince words when discussing the reasons for Hillary’s defeat. He points the finger squarely at Russian interference, former FBI Director James Comey’s investigation into her emails, and a “spineless” media obsessed with scandal over substance.

He cites social scientist Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who suggested that Russian cyberattacks, combined with Comey’s October surprise, may have swayed key voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Clinton adds, “If so, Putin’s enablers were Comey and the political press.”

For Clinton, the loss wasn’t just personal—it was a national tragedy. “Hillary had a six-point lead. The election should have been hers,” he laments.

Clinton also addresses one of the most controversial chapters of his post-presidential life: his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Yes, I flew on his plane,” Clinton admits, referring to Epstein’s infamous private jet, the Lolita Express, which he used in 2002 and 2003. But he vehemently denies ever visiting Epstein’s notorious private island, Little Saint James.

“Epstein offered the plane to support my foundation,” Clinton claims. “We talked about economics and politics. But in hindsight, it wasn’t worth the years of questions. I wish I had never met him.”

Clinton insists he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. “By the time he was arrested in 2005, I had already cut ties with him,” he writes. “He hurt a lot of people, but I knew nothing about it.”

No Clinton memoir would be complete without revisiting the scandal that nearly ended his presidency: his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton reflects on a 2018 interview where he was pressed about whether he ever apologized directly to Lewinsky. His response? A mix of frustration and regret.

“I said I felt terrible then, and I still do,” Clinton writes. “But I was caught off guard when they pushed back, saying I hadn’t apologized directly. I had said I was sorry publicly, but maybe that wasn’t enough.”

He admits the interview “was not my finest hour,” acknowledging that the scandal continues to cast a long shadow over his legacy.

Another bizarre tale Clinton addresses is the infamous accusation that his staff vandalized the White House during the transition to President George W. Bush in 2001.

Among the alleged pranks? Filing cabinets glued shut, obscene messages left on voicemail, and keyboards with the letter “W” removed—a nod to Bush’s middle initial.

Clinton doesn’t outright deny it. “Some said it was exaggerated, others said it was true,” he writes. “I’ll leave it to history.”

A subsequent investigation found $15,000 worth of damage and pranks, but no one was prosecuted.

Clinton’s memoir is a candid, often uncomfortable look at the man who once held the highest office in the land. From his simmering rage over Hillary’s loss to the scandals that continue to haunt him, it’s clear he remains a deeply complicated figure.

In the closing pages of Citizen, Clinton offers a final reflection:

“I’ve made mistakes—some big, some small. But I’ve always tried to learn from them. History will judge me, but I hope it also remembers the good I tried to do.”

Whether that hope will be realized remains to be seen. For many, Clinton’s legacy is one of charm and achievement marred by scandal and controversy. And as this memoir makes clear, he’s not done grappling with it yet.