Bill Clinton Trivia
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49 free Bill Clinton trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III in a town called Hope, played first-chair saxophone in the Arkansas state band, shook John F. Kennedy's hand at 16 and became the youngest governor in America at 32 — then lost the job two years later. He came back, as he usually did, and in 1992 ended twelve years of Republican control of the White House. These 49 questions cover the whole arc: Georgetown, Oxford and the Yale Law Library, the 1974 House race he lost, the 'Boy Governor' years, the Comeback Kid and The Arsenio Hall Show, two wins over Ross Perot, NAFTA, the Brady Bill, Don't Ask Don't Tell, the health care plan that failed, the budget surpluses, the Oslo Accords and Northern Ireland, impeachment and acquittal, and the post-presidency of memoirs, Grammys, heart surgery and Haiti. Socks the cat makes an appearance too. Easy questions cover the facts most people know; the hard tier asks about his draft number, his first chief of staff and the 1996 popular vote. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation that adds one more detail.
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which band's hit 'Don't Stop' was the theme song of Clinton's 1992 campaign?
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac: after he won, Clinton persuaded the band to reunite and play the song at his 1993 inaugural ball.
Q 02What office did Clinton hold in Arkansas from 1977 to 1979?
Attorney general
Attorney general: he won it in 1976, two years after losing a House race, and was elected governor in 1978.
Q 03What was Bill Clinton's surname at birth?
Blythe
Blythe: his father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., died in a car accident months before Bill was born.
Q 04In which aptly named Arkansas town was Bill Clinton born?
Hope
Hope: he lived with his grandparents there while his mother studied nursing in New Orleans.
Q 05After his mother remarried in 1950, young Bill Clinton moved to which Arkansas resort town?
Hot Springs
Hot Springs: as a teenager there, he stood up to his abusive, alcoholic stepfather.
Q 06Which instrument did Clinton play, winning first chair in the state band?
Saxophone
Saxophone: during the 1992 campaign he showed off his playing on late-night television.
Q 07Which president did a teenage Clinton meet at the White House in 1963?
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy: Clinton met him as a Boys Nation delegate, and he later named it one of two 1963 moments that led him into public life.
Q 08Clinton earned his bachelor's degree from which school in 1968?
Georgetown
Georgetown: he was twice elected class president there, but then lost his race for student council president.
Q 09For which Arkansas senator did Clinton work as an intern and clerk in college?
J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright: in 1966 the senator's Foreign Relations Committee held televised hearings on the Vietnam War.
Q 10Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar at which Oxford college?
University
University: his Oxford coursework never added up to a degree, and he left early to return to the United States.
Q 11Where did Bill Clinton meet his future wife in 1971?
The Yale Law Library
The Yale Law Library: after about a month of dating, he put off a campaign job to spend that summer with her in California.
Q 12Clinton ran which presidential candidate's 1972 campaign effort in Texas?
George McGovern
George McGovern: for all the campaign's work, Nixon carried Texas in his 1972 landslide.
Q 13Which strategist coined the line 'It's the economy, stupid' for Clinton's 1992 campaign?
James Carville
James Carville: he put it on a sign at campaign headquarters as one of three messages to keep staff focused.
Q 21Which independent candidate took a large share of the vote in 1992 but won no electoral votes?
Ross Perot
Ross Perot: he quit the race in July 1992 and jumped back in that October, a wavering that damaged his candidacy.
Q 22Which incumbent did Clinton defeat in 1992?
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush: he had pledged 'Read my lips: no new taxes' in 1988, then signed a budget deal that raised taxes.
Q 23Who was Clinton's vice president for both terms?
Al Gore
Al Gore: after leaving office he campaigned on climate change and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Q 14Clinton's first run for office, a 1974 House race, ended in defeat to which incumbent?
Paul Hammerschmidt
He lost 52–48 in a year when Watergate was dragging down Republicans everywhere else.
Q 15Unrest among which refugees at Fort Chaffee hurt Governor Clinton in 1980?
Cuban
Cuban: they had come in that year's Mariel boatlift, and the federal government had interned them at the fort.
Q 16Who defeated Clinton in his 1980 bid for re-election as governor?
Frank D. White
Frank D. White: Clinton won the office back from him in 1982.
Q 17Clinton's 1988 Democratic convention speech was criticized for what?
Being far too long
At 33 minutes it ran twice its expected length; he was nominating Michael Dukakis.
Q 18What nickname did Clinton earn after his strong second place in the 1992 New Hampshire primary?
Comeback Kid
Comeback Kid: he went on to sweep most Southern primaries on Super Tuesday and build a firm lead for the nomination.
Q 19In 1999, NATO air strikes backed by Clinton forced Serbian forces out of which region?
Kosovo
Kosovo: American troops then moved in with other NATO forces to keep the peace there.
Q 20On whose late-night talk show did candidate Clinton famously perform in 1992?
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall: the June 1992 appearance was seen as a lift for Clinton's stalled presidential campaign.
Q 24Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood, Clinton's first two Justice Dept picks, withdrew over what?
Undocumented nannies
Undocumented nannies: after both withdrew, Clinton settled on Florida prosecutor Janet Reno, who got the job.
Q 25What was the name of the compromise policy on gay service members adopted in 1993?
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Clinton had vowed to end the ban on gay service members, but opposition in Congress and the military forced a compromise.
Q 26What did the 1993 Brady Bill require?
Background checks for gun buyers
Background checks for gun buyers: James Brady, Reagan's press secretary, was shot in the 1981 attempt on Reagan and then campaigned for gun laws.
Q 27Which trade agreement, signed by Clinton in December 1993, took effect on January 1, 1994?
NAFTA
NAFTA: the deal itself had been signed in December 1992, before he took office, and Congress approved it only in November 1993.
Q 28Who headed the task force behind Clinton's failed 1993 health care plan?
The First Lady
The First Lady: her task force of experts worked in secret, and a federal court later forced some of its records into the open.
Q 29Which two justices did Clinton appoint to the Supreme Court?
Ginsburg and Breyer
Ginsburg and Breyer: before choosing Breyer, Clinton offered that seat to Senator George Mitchell, who declined to keep working on health reform.
Q 30Which Georgia congressman led the 1994 Republican takeover of the House and became Speaker?
Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich: his budget clashes with Clinton led to federal government shutdowns in late 1995 and early 1996.