Chelsea Clinton says she's a 'definite maybe' to run for office

Chelsea Clinton speaks during the Rise Up For Roe national tour, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton announced Monday she is a "definite maybe" to run for political office in the future, saying she is "outraged every day by something our president has done or said or left undone or neglected."

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Clinton outlined a host of grievances against the Trump administration, but emphasized she has no current plans to run for office.

"At the federal level, as much as I abhor so much of what President Trumpis doing, I have a great amount of gratitude for what my congresswoman and my senators are doing to try to stop him at every point,” Clinton told attendees.

"I think I’m just so fundamentally my mother’s daughter that I’m far more outraged by the Trump administration ripping children away from their families at the border and not having reunified those children with their families now for months, than I am about anything he has ever done to my families,” she added.

TRUMP ADMIN SAYS ALL ELIGIBLE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN REUNITED WITH THEIR FAMILIES

Last month, the Trump administration annonuced that all eligible small children who were separated from their families under the White House's new “zero-tolerance” immigration policy had been reunited with their loved ones.

However, hundreds of children under the age of five remained in government custody due to safety concerns, the deportation of their family members or another reason, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A federal judge has criticized the administration's efforts to reunite families separated at the border.

“For me it’s a definite 'no' now, but it’s a definite 'maybe' in the future because who knows what the future is going to bring."

— Chelsea Clinton

“I think my family ... is being really well represented," Clinton said. "But if that were to change, if my city councillor were to retire, if my congresswoman were to retire, my senators, and I thought that I could make a positive impact, then I think I would really have to ask my answer to that question."

She clarified: “For me it’s a definite 'no' now, but it’s a definite 'maybe' in the future because who knows what the future is going to bring."

Video

Earlier this year, Clinton said criticism against Ivanka Trump, President Trump's daughter, is fair game and should be expected because she works for the president. Clinton last year had engaged in something of a Twiter spat with Trump, after media reports criticized Ivanka for sitting in during a meeting at the G20 summit in Germany.

“If Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the Fake News would say CHELSEA FOR PRES!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Clinton shot back: "Good morning Mr. President. It would never have occurred to my mother or my father to ask me. Were you giving our country away? Hoping not."

Clinton also had some words of praise for her mother on Monday, whose upset defeat in the 2016 presidential election stunned observers. 

Earlier this year, Chelsea denied a New York Times report that she had prematurely popped champagne and poured it into staffers' glasses on election night.

"She just has continued to persist forward in trying to have a positive impact in politics and outside politics in the way that I have seen her do my entire life," Clinton said.

Clinton's comments about a potential run for office Monday were a marked change of tune. Last year, in a video interview with Variety magazine, she said, "Hi, I'm Chelsea Clinton, and one thing you may not know about me is I am not running for public office. I mean, I just -- no."

Chelsea's about-face on her interest in running for federal office has some precedent in her family. Hillary Clinton had previously ruled out a 2016 presidential bid several times, even telling NBC anchor Ann Curry "no" three times in 2009 when asked whether she would ever run for president again.

The younger Clinton may face some oddball competition. Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult film star Stormy Daniels who has openly feuded with President Trump and his attorneys, announced in an interview earlier this month that he, too, is looking into a run for office -- and, he says, he hopes people take him "seriously."

Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly contributed to this report.