CNN host Jake Tapper said he was "amazed" by Bill Clinton's responses to recent questions about the #MeToo movement, telling "Late Night" Monday that some of Clinton's statements were "the worst answer you could give."
Clinton grew defensive and combative in a recent NBC News interview when reporter Craig Melvin asked him about his affair with Monica Lewinsky in the wake of the #MeToo movement. He said "nobody believes I got out of that for free" and accused Melvin of ignoring facts about the controversy. He later suggested NBC cheaply edited the interview.
In another interview, he played down the sexual harassment allegations against Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) and suggested one might be false.
Tapper told "Late Night" host Seth Meyers he was "stunned" by Clinton's answers.
"I've been amazed at how poorly he's handled these questions," Tapper said. "I mean, a lot of them you could have anticipated. The world has changed in just the last year."
Tapper noted the Tony Awards host last year was Kevin Spacey, one of numerous public figures undone since then by accusations of harassment and abuse.
"You have to adapt, and I would think he would have had automatic answers for, 'Do you owe Monica Lewinsky an apology,' 'What do you make of the #MeToo movement' ... Boy, some of the answers have been just—if you wanted to write the worst answer you could give," Tapper said.
Tapper referenced Clinton saying "norms have changed" regarding what someone can do to someone else against their will.
"You don't have to physically assault somebody to make them, you know, uncomfortable at work or at home or in their other—just walking around. That, I think, is good," Clinton said.
"It was not well thought-out," Meyers said of the comment.