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Bill Clinton calls Donald Trump a 'master brander'

Former President Bill Clinton explained Donald Trump's success in the 2016 presidential election on Tuesday.
President Bill Clinton appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oct. 6, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS/AP)
President Bill Clinton appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oct. 6, 2015, in New York. 

Bill Clinton thinks Donald Trump is a “master brander.”

That’s one of the reasons the former president believes the 2016 Republican front-runner is doing so well in the polls. “He’s the most interesting character out there,” Clinton said Tuesday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

But Clinton admitted he’s supporting the 2016 Democratic candidate he saw recently “singing on ‘Saturday Night Live’” -- his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton appeared on “SNL” over the weekend as a bartender named “Val,” while cast member Kate McKinnon put forward her Clinton impersonation.

“Made me want to take a drink with her,” Bill Clinton said of Hillary.

RELATED: Clinton steps on the gas as possible Biden run looms

In the wide-ranging interview with Colbert, Clinton discussed his philanthropic work and fielded a question about how he would justify the human race’s existence in the face of alien invaders. “We are the great cooperators,” Clinton said.

Colbert also asked Clinton to clear up a rumor -- that the former president called Trump ahead of his campaign launch to urge him to run. NBC News confirmed the two spoke by phone before Trump entered the race, but a Clinton aide denied that the campaign was discussed.

“I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn’t do like that,” Clinton said Tuesday, adding, “I had a very pleasant conversation with him, and it wasn’t about running for office.”

Clinton’s appearance on “The Late Show” comes as the former president takes on a more visible role in the 2016 campaign. Late last month, Clinton sought to tamp down the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. “I’m glad it happened in 2015 instead of 2016. And I believe it will burn itself out,” Bill Clinton told CNBC’s Becky Quick.