Bill Clinton sparred with Black Lives Matter protesters today at a rally in Philadelphia. After the protesters attacked the crime and welfare reform laws passed during his presidency and criticized Hillary Clinton's use of the phrase "superpredators," Clinton had a controversial response:
"I don't know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out into the street to murder other African-American children," Clinton said, accusing the protesters of "defending the people who killed the lives you say matter." He next claimed that welfare reform decreased black poverty (though in reality it sharply increased extreme poverty, especially after the end of the '90s boom). Then, moving to a defense of his wife's foreign policy record, he chose a jarring segue, saying, "I'll tell you another story about a place where black lives matter: Africa." Watch the exchange below. Ryan Cooper
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