McCarthy’s ‘Girlfriends’ comment irks Hillary pals

During a discussion on “The View” Tuesday of Ronald Kessler’s upcoming new book “The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of Presidents,” outgoing co-host Jenny McCarthy suggested former President Clinton and his wife and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may “have an arrangement.”

McCarthy’s comments came during a discussion of the book’s allegation Bill Clinton has a “mistress” dubbed “Energizer” by his Secret Service detail.

What has really irked a few major Hillary supporters in Chicago was a throwaway line from a grinning McCarthy, “Well maybe he has his girlfriends and she has her girlfriends.”

Ironically, guest host Jason Biggs was sitting next to her and raised his eyebrow in a telling look. Biggs, of course, has recently got himself into trouble with a couple of tasteless tweets — most recently one about getting rid of his “frequent flyer miles on Malaysian Airlines,” coming shortly after the tragic crash in Ukraine last week.

A longtime, major Hillary Clinton supporter told me Tuesday, “I know you have to consider the source — Jenny McCarthy — but it is outrageous that she would float such a ridiculous rumor about Hillary’s sexuality like that. … Trust me, Hillary is not a lesbian and it’s horrible that they would allow something like to be broadcast on a national show like ‘The View.’ … Sadly, once something is put out there today, it never really goes away — no matter if it’s true or not.”

Another Clinton friend, who raised a ton of cash for the former New York senator’s 2008 presidential campaign — and is anxious to do it again for her in 2016 — was somewhat more philosophical about the McCarthy comment. “Listen, Hillary’s a big girl. She can handle anything and everything. However, this still is such a sleazy way to feed the rumor mill out there. … But then, nothing surprises me anymore.”