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McCaskill Avoids Answering Question About Bill Clinton: 'I Have Spoken Enough About That Topic'

Sen. Claire McCaskill / Getty Images
June 6, 2018

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.) declared Wednesday she had spoken enough about former President Bill Clinton after she was asked about widely criticized comments he made this week.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Chuck Raasch tweeted about his exchange with McCaskill, saying he asked the senator if she found an apology she made to Bill and Hillary Clinton "ironic" after Bill Clinton "balked" Monday at a question about apologizing to Monica Lewinsky, the intern with whom he had an affair during his presidency.

While it was clear Bill Clinton did not want to talk about Lewinsky this week, McCaskill also did not want to talk about it.

"I just don't know that I need to go there. I have spoken enough about that topic," she said.

In 2006, McCaskill said that while she thought Clinton was a great president, "I had a lot of problems with some of his personal issues. I said at the time I think he's been a great leader, but I don't want my daughter near him."

She later apologized to the Clintons for the comments, saying they were "not necessary."

The former president has come under fire for his response during an interview Monday after NBC's Craig Melvin asked whether he had apologized to Lewinsky. Clinton said in response that he dealt with the situation during that time and did not get out of it unscathed. He defensively reminded Melvin that most of the American public sided with him throughout the scandal.

McCaskill is up for re-election this November in a state President Donald Trump won by more than 18 points over Hillary Clinton.