By Jerry Zremski
The Buffalo News, N.Y.
NEW YORK
A family seen by some as a potential American political dynasty is about to add another generation to its ranks.
Chelsea Clinton, the only child of Bill and Hillary Clinton, surprised the crowd at a “No Ceilings” event on equality for girls and women here Thursday by announcing that she and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, are going to be parents.
“Marc and I are very excited that we have our first child arriving later this year, and I certainly feel all the better — whether it’s a girl or a boy — that she or he will grow up in a world full of so many strong young female leaders, so thank you for inspiring me and thank you for inspiring future generations, including the one that we’ll be lucky enough to welcome into our family later this year,” Clinton said. “I just hope that I will be as good a mom to my child and — hopefully — children, as my mom was to me.”
Her mother, former Secretary of State and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, beamed as Chelsea Clinton made her announcement and pronounced herself “really excited.”
Minutes later, Twitter lit up with comments about the pregnancy.
“Excited to add a new line to my Twitter bio … grandfather-to-be! @hillaryclinton and I are so happy for Chelsea and Marc!” former President Bill Clinton tweeted.
Meanwhile, another presidential offspring, Jenna Bush Hager, tweeted: “Congratulations @ChelseaClinton! Welcome to the best club in the world. Mamahood is wonderful. Xx.”
In some ways, Clinton’s announcement was no surprise. She had said in a magazine interview last year that for her and her husband, 2014 would be “the year of the baby.”
And to anyone who looked on closely from the front rows of the crowded room at the Lower Eastside Girls Club where Thursday’s event was held, it was fairly obvious that Clinton looked, well, a little different.
Clinton didn’t announce any other details of her pregnancy, but that didn’t stop comedian Ellen DeGeneres from trying to tweet the most out of the news.
“@ChelseaClinton is going to have a baby!” DeGeneres tweeted. “No reports yet if it’s a boy or girl, but it did just win a seat in the Illinois General Assembly.”
