It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. ... Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true." - Meaning and context.">
Grand jury testimony (August 17, 1998), answering questions about his attorney's description of an affidavit by Monica Lewinsky

It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. ... Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true.

— Bill Clinton

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets " It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement. ... Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true." in the context of "Grand jury testimony (August 17, 1998), answering questions about his attorney's description of an affidavit by Monica Lewinsky" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bill Clinton" (Quotes, 1990s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 03, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bill Clinton

About Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III ; 19 August 1946) is an American politician and the 42nd president of the United States of America, and the husband of Hillary Rodham Clinton.