Mike Segar/Reuters
Bill Clinton defended one of his wife Hillary’s most controversial comments during a heated exchange with protesters Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia. The former president’s speech was interrupted by protesters upset with the Clinton legacy of welfare reform and mass incarceration of minorities, prompting Bill to defend her infamous use of the phrase “superpredators” to describe black youth in 1996. “I don’t know how you would describe the gang leaders who got 13-year-olds hopped up on crack and sent them out in the streets to murder other African-American children,” he said while looking directly at the protesters. “Maybe you thought they were good citizens, [Hillary] didn’t.” He added: “You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the Clinton campaign for additional comment.
Later in the same speech, Clinton told the crowd a story “about a place where black lives matter: Africa.” He recalled a photo he saw on his iPad showing a Tanzanian man opening a stall named “Hillary Clinton Shop” in honor of her actions as U.S. secretary of state in supporting the continent’s development efforts.