Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Clinton to Youth: Eat Like Me and <em>Die</em> (With Classic Video!)
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 18, 2010
Modified Feb 18, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 18, 2010
Modified Feb 18, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Former president Bill Clinton has a lot of admirable qualities—his charisma, his intelligence, his saxophone... his role in facilitating CIA gun and cocaine smuggling into Arkansas (says Penthouse!). But after dodging a heart attack last week, Bubba has made his first remarks to the media, and used the opportunity to warn the youth of America not to emulate his unhealthy eating habits.
"I'm very, very lucky that I didn't have a much worse set of circumstances," Clinton said Wednesday at his office in Harlem, where he held a press conference to discuss a partnership between the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation. "Everybody knows I went to the doctor last week for a little tune up on my heart... I'm glad to be back to work." Number 42 went on to explain that his heart problems—he had a quadruple bypass in 2004—can be traced directly back to his boyhood fast food diet:
The root causes were the habits I acquired in my childhood, mostly the way I ate and the way it interacted with my own biology and propensity to produce bad cholesterol. I ate too much fried food, too much ice cream, too much everything. Many, many young people are facing exactly the same circumstances I did unless they change their eating and exercise habits. They may or may not be as lucky as I was.
And who could be as lucky as The Comeback Kid, who spent his life gorging on delicious yet unhealthy food and lived to tell the tale (so far). For reference, find below the timeless SNL sketch from the early '90s, showing presidential candidate Clinton, played to perfection by Phil Hartman, eating his way through a McDonald's. Funny/sad how Clinton outlived Hartman, and how SNL used to be pretty consistently hilarious!
Tagged
bill clinton
heart
mcdonald's
Phil Hartman
snl
video
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
Published Oct 10, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. ET
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
The DSA's NYC chapter accused the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and demanded Mayor Mamdani hold Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch responsible.
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
News
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
The DSA's NYC chapter accused the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and demanded Mayor Mamdani hold Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch responsible.
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
Two people killed in Bronx vehicle crash
By
Kaya Laterman
NY will opt in Trump’s school choice program, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Residents, lawmakers warned for months of potential for deadly ICE activity in Marble Hill
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .