Hillary Clinton has been forced to walk back statements on former President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan. Speaking on MSNBC, Clinton praised the Reagans’ “low-key advocacy” about HIV/AIDS back in the 1980s.
Hillary Clinton: “And because of both President and Mrs. Reagan—in particular Mrs. Reagan—we started a national conversation, when, before, nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it. And, you know, that, too, is something that I really appreciate, with her very effective, low-key advocacy, but it penetrated the public conscience, and people began to say, 'Hey, we have to do something about this, too.'”
After critics noted Reagan didn’t even mention AIDS until the seventh year of his presidency, Clinton apologized for the remarks, saying she “misspoke” about their record. She credited LGBT activists with starting the national conversation about AIDS.