Former US president Bill Clinton offered a near-apology to "Black Lives Matters" protesters who interrupted a campaign rally held for his wife, saying that he never thought he should drown out protesters.
Mr Clinton was speaking at an event in Erie, Pennsylvania, a day after verbally clashing for about 13 minutes with demonstrators at a rally in Philadelphia in support of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.
Black Lives Matters activists disturbed one of his rallies for her campaign for the White House over remarks she made in 1994 as first lady when, as first lady, she said in a speech that young people in gangs were "super predators" who needed to "be brought to heel".
Those remarks have been circulated during her campaign by activists in the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of protests at the deaths of young African-Americans by police officers.
At Thursday’s rally, protesters shouted, “Black youth are not super predators,” and heckled the former president for the 1994 Bill he signed in the White House that reduced gang activity but imprisoned more non-violent offenders for longer sentences.
Mr Clinton offered a spirited defence of his wife’s remarks and the effectiveness of his own anti-crime policies as president at the rally but grew irritable when the demonstrators continued to interrupt him.
“I don’t know how you would characterise the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped on crack and sent them out on the street to murder other African-American children,” he said, wagging a finger at a heckler. “Maybe you thought they were good citizens; she didn’t.”
Mr Clinton accused them of “defending the people who killed the lives you say matter”.
The feisty exchange took place in an African-American community in a city that will host the Democratic national convention in July.
Regretful
At a campaign rally on Friday, the former president appeared somewhat regretful over the zeal with which he responded to the protesters, saying that he “almost” wanted to apologise for his response.
“We see all these rallies interrupted by people that are angry. Now I live and believe in protests. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t because I engaged in some when I was a kid but I never thought I should drown anyone else out,” Mr Clinton said of his exchange with the protesters.
“And I confess maybe it’s just a sign of old age but it bothers me now when that happens. So I did something yesterday in Philadelphia I almost want to apologise for but I want to use it as an example of the danger threatening our country.”
The former president, who was campaigning in a state that has 189 delegates up for grabs when it votes on April 26th, said that he knew the protesters were “just trying to get good television” but “that doesn’t mean I was most effective in answering it”.
As the race enters the final two months of primaries, Ms Clinton holds a commanding lead over Vermont senator Bernie Sanders among party delegates, who in Philadelphia in July will formally pick the Democratic nominee to stand in November's presidential election.
The upcoming primaries in New York on April 19th and Pennsylvania and four other east-coast states a week later will likely determine the outcome of the Democratic primary race.
