Bill Clinton says Donald Trump is "a master brander" who exudes "macho appeal."
The former president praised the billionaire developer and offered an amusing impression of him during an appearance early Wednesday on
CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Clinton said Trump has achieved his position as the runaway Republican presidential front-runner because "he's the most interesting character out there."
Then, turning amateur impressionist, Clinton imitated Trump's in-your-face, take-no-prisoners style of speaking.
He recalled during the first GOP debate, "Trump said 'OK, I supported Democrats, I supported Republicans, yeah, I was friends with Bill Clinton, who cares? I run things, and I build things, and you need somebody who will go in there and fix it, and if they don't fix it I'll get them out of the way.'"
Clinton told Colbert that over time, Trump's presidential run may have "a short half-life."
"I can't tell yet. But he is a master brander and there is a macho appeal to saying, 'I'm just sick of nothing happening, I make things happen, vote for me!'"
But he dismissed rumors that he had had a hand in getting Trump to throw his hat in the ring.
"I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn't do, like that. I had a very pleasant conversation with him and it wasn't about running for office. So I missed a chance," Clinton said.
Clinton also added his thoughts about left-leaning Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has made substantial gains in his challenge to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner.
"A lot of people believe that the Republicans have been rewarded for — they reward the people that go furthest to the right, so the Democrats would be even more effective if they moved further to the left," he said.
Clinton also said he had watched his wife's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" last weekend.
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