Former first lady Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential election, was seated behind Barack Obama and appeared to laugh hard at the remark. Cameras then caught Clinton leaning over to say something to the former president, prompting him to smile as the audience continued to cheer.

If the former president had “passed the torch” and allowed a competitive Democratic primary in 2024, she said in a new interview, the winner “would have beaten Donald Trump.”