Veteran journalist Geraldo Rivera has shared his thoughts on Night 1 of the Democratic National Convention, where he noted his worries about Hillary Clinton turning off voters with her speech.
Appearing on a panel alongside NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, Rivera referred to Clinton as “one of the nicest people ever” before giving his honest reaction to her speech and how he thought it might have given voters flashbacks to the 2016 presidential election.
“Hillary in person is one of the nicest people ever. She’s always so gracious. I see her on 46th Street going to the restaurants there in restaurants row and they’re at the theater. She’s so pleasant and so caring,” Rivera said, per Mediaite.
The former Fox News host added that Clinton did a “pretty good job” with her speech at the DNC in Chicago’s United Center on Monday evening but said he was concerned about the Democrats’ message getting lost.
“There’s a tendency when her pitch and range go up where it’s laden with bitterness and grievance that I worry the message is lost, that people watch her in 2024 and flashback to 2016 and remember why they didn’t vote for her,” Rivera explained.
Clinton, who received a two-minute standing ovation on Monday night, lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 election, failing to become the United States’ first-ever female president.
Vice President Kamala Harris will be hoping to achieve that accomplishment as she is set to officially accept the Democratic nominee on Thursday (August 22).
Adding his thoughts on Harris’ chances, Rivera predicted that race would be a determining factor in the 2024 presidential election. “I think it’s sad, it’s melancholy, it’s a fact of American life, but race will rear its ugly head, I have no doubt,” he shared.
Rivera has worked in news media for over 50 years, previously serving as the senior correspondent and co-host of the roundtable program The Five at Fox News. However, the long-time host announced his departure from the network last June.
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At the time, a Fox News spokesperson said, “We reached an amicable conclusion with Geraldo over the past few weeks and look forward to celebrating him tomorrow on Fox & Friends which will be his last appearance on the network.”
While Rivera initially said he left The Five by his own choice, he later claimed he was “fired,” which led to him quitting the network altogether. He’d later tell ABC’s The View that he “had a very toxic relationship with another of the cast members” on the show.
After leaving Fox News, Rivera joined NewsNation as a correspondent-at-large, regularly appearing on CUOMO, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesdays.
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