Former president Bill Clinton was hammered with criticisms about his administration’s record while stumping for his wife Hillary Clinton in Richmond, California, on Monday evening.
Just minutes into Clinton’s speech, a protester began shouting at him about his administration’s 1994 crime bill while another seemed to confront him on his economic record and his family’s Wall Street ties, NBC reported Tuesday.
While Hillary Clinton supporters attempted to drown out hecklers, the former president welcomed the debates but objected to critics linking his wife to his administration’s faults.
"I don’t think it’s right to go back and cherry-pick my record and then try to blame Hillary with everything somebody disagrees with. If you are going to do that, you at least ought to give her credit for the things she agreed with," he said.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act signed into law by Bill Clinton has plagued Hillary Clinton’s campaign, receiving harsh criticism from African American communities who blame the reform bill for over-incarceration that led to booming prison populations.
Bill Clinton conceded during his address that the law wasn’t perfect, but pointed to its gun control measures, which he said dropped murder rates. He also condemned Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vt.) for supporting the House version of the bill, which Clinton said included "stronger incarceration procedures" than he’d initially requested.
Though he agreed the law "made the problem worse," he didn’t back down from touting what he considered the bill’s accomplishments.
"You got community policing, you got after school programs and night programs for people that were in trouble. The lowest crime rate in 25 years, lowest murder rate in 33 years, and the lowest death from illegal gun homicides in 47 years," he said.
Before he could move into his prepared remarks, another protester yelled at Clinton about his own and his wife’s Wall Street connections. "You represent corporations!" the man shouted.
He delivered a wordy response detailing his tax increases on the wealthy and increased Wall Street regulations before mocking critics.
"This whole campaign has been some kind of weird attempt to say, let’s not look at what really happened, which is we all grew together."
When the man attempted to interrupt Clinton again, the former president interrupted. "This is not your meeting, sir."
The disruptions mark the latest in a series of confrontations Clinton has faced since he began to campaign on behalf of his wife.
A barrage of Black Lives Matter protesters pelted in April him with attacks regarding the 1994 crime bill. Hillary Clinton has attempted to distance herself from the law in an effort to retain support among black voters.