'I meant no disrespect': Hillary admits she 'upset or offended' some Americans with comments she made about Trump supporters and white women voting like their husbands

  • Hillary Clinton took to Facebook to explain some comments she made in India that had drawn criticism from Democrats and the Trump White House 
  • 'I understand how some of what I said upset people and can be misinterpreted,' Clinton said in the post 
  • The ex-nominee said she wasn't trying to attack red states when she talked about how areas that went for Trump weren't as economically advantaged
  • She stood her ground - while noting it was hard to hear - but believed that some women were swayed to vote for a male candidate by their husbands
  • 'It may not be universally true or easy to hear, but yes, it’s a dynamic still at play in our society,' Clinton said  

Hillary Clinton provided an explanation for some recent comments she made that she understood 'upset or offended' some Americans – statements that drew criticism from fellow Democrats and the Trump White House alike.  

'I understand how some of what I said upset people and can be misinterpreted. I meant no disrespect to any individual or group,' she said in a Facebook post. 'And I want to look to the future as much as anybody.' 

Clinton, on a trip to India, had talked about how her voters came from economically advantaged places in comparison to Trump voters, and also noted how white women often voted the same way as their husbands.

Hillary Clinton posted a note to Facebook in which she explained some comments she made on her recent trip to India, which she realized 'upset or offended' some Americans 

Hillary Clinton posted a note to Facebook in which she explained some comments she made on her recent trip to India, which she realized 'upset or offended' some Americans 

Hillary Clinton, on a trip to India, said that white married women were pressured to vote for President Trump by their husbands. She also talked about how areas that voted for Trump were less economically advantaged than those that voted for her 

Hillary Clinton, on a trip to India, said that white married women were pressured to vote for President Trump by their husbands. She also talked about how areas that voted for Trump were less economically advantaged than those that voted for her 

A number of Democrats were critical of Clinton's remarks because they didn't like how she portrayed red states and female voters. 

The Trump White House again called her out of touch. 

'She is completely disconnected from the American public and certainly I think shows her disdain for the millions and millions of Americans who came out and voted and supported President Trump and still support him today,' Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday.

On Saturday Clinton explained that in India she was asked if Trump was a 'virus' or if his election was a 'symptom' of something deeper going on in the United States. 

'Like most Americans, people overseas remain shocked and dismayed at what they are witnessing daily,' she began. 'My first instinct was to defend Americans and explain how Donald Trump could have been elected.' 

She told those in India that the places doing better economically tend to vote Democratic, while those doing worse off vote Republican. 

'That doesn't mean the coasts versus the heartland, it doesn't even mean states,' she said. 'In fact, it more often captures the divisions between more dynamic urban areas and less prosperous small towns within states.' 

 'I did not realize how hard it would hit many who heard it,' Hillary Clinton said of comments she made in India suggesting that white female voters followed the lead of the men in their lives to vote for Donald Trump in larger numbers than the first female major party nominee

 'I did not realize how hard it would hit many who heard it,' Hillary Clinton said of comments she made in India suggesting that white female voters followed the lead of the men in their lives to vote for Donald Trump in larger numbers than the first female major party nominee

Recent comments Hillary Clinton made in India about President Trump's voters and the states that he won are a 'perfect example of why Hillary Clinton is not in the White House,' Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday 

Recent comments Hillary Clinton made in India about President Trump's voters and the states that he won are a 'perfect example of why Hillary Clinton is not in the White House,' Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday 

On the same India trip, Hillary Clinton suggested that the places that voted for her were more economically advanced than those that voted for President Trump. In a new Facebook post, Clinton said she didn't mean for that to seem like she was attacking full red states 

On the same India trip, Hillary Clinton suggested that the places that voted for her were more economically advanced than those that voted for President Trump. In a new Facebook post, Clinton said she didn't mean for that to seem like she was attacking full red states 

Her comments had been interpreted as an assault on red states, with one former senior Clinton aide telling the Hill newspaper that 'she puts herself in a position where [Democrats] from states that Trump won will have to distance themselves from her even more.' 

'That's a lot of states,' the ex-aide pointed out.

In her Facebook note, Clinton also addressed what she had said about Trump's campaign message.   

'As I said throughout the campaign, Trump's messages was dark and backwards looking. I don't need to list the reasons, but the foundation of his message, "Make America Great AGAIN" suggests that to be great we have to go back to something we are no longer,' Clinton said. 'I never accepted that and never will.'

In India, her comments about Trump and his voters were harsher than how she characterized them on Facebook Saturday, with her saying Trump's call to his supporters was: 'You didn't like black people getting rights, you don't like women getting jobs, you don't want to see that Indian-American succeeding more than you are, whatever your problem is, I'm going to solve it.' 

Clinton, the first female presidential nominee from a major political party, also noted how she mentioned 'something in passing that's gotten a lot of negative attention.' 

'That there is anecdotal evidence and some research to suggest that women are unfortunately more swayed by men than the other way around,' she said. 

When she made her comments in India, they were specifically about voting, as she suggested white women had followed their husbands' lead in voting for Trump.  

'I did not realize how hard it would hit many who heard it,' she said. 

'Do I believe that some women look at a powerful woman and question whether she can lead, maybe voting for the man their husband is voting for instead?' she mused. 'It may not be universally true or easy to hear, but yes, it’s a dynamic still at play in our society.'

'I know this because even I spent parts of my life wondering if I could achieve the same as male leaders, and a lot of that insecurity stemmed from my gender and how society views women,' Clinton added. 

She also pointed out that she was always more popular when she was working for or defending a man, compared to when she was doing something by herself.  

'That’s the point I was making, in an effort to explain to an audience some of the many dynamics that have gone into these tumultuous last few years,' Clinton said.  

In her note, Clinton suggested she realized that her comments had become a political distraction for the Democrats yet again.  

'So to those upset or offended by what I said last week, I hope this explanation helps to explain the point I was trying to make,' she said. 'And I hope now that we can get back to the real business before us: Protecting our democracy and building a future we can all share,' she concluded. 

Even after her apology was posted to the web, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, called what Clinton had previously asserted 'wrong.'

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, answered 'not soon enough' when asked when Hillary Clinton would 'ride off in the sunset' 

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, answered 'not soon enough' when asked when Hillary Clinton would 'ride off in the sunset' 

'Thirty per cent of the people that voted for Donald Trump had voted for President Obama. Why? Durbin asked on Fox News Sunday. 'The same people who looked for change with President Obama thought there wasn't enough, as far as their personal lives were concerned, and they supported Donald Trump.' 

'That is a reality the Democrats acknowledge,' Durbin added.  

Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, also called Clinton's comments 'not helpful at all' going into this year's midterm election cycle. 

Former Ohio state Rep. Nina Turner, who supported Clinton's rival Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary in 2016, said on CNN's State of the Union Sunday that it was 'very hurtful' for the former secretary of state to talk about Ohioans like that.  

'In politics, we should not criticize the voters,' Turner acknowledged.  

Other Democrats had made similar complaints, with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakotan Democrat who's facing a tough re-election bid ,saying on a radio program hosted by her brother that the ex-nominee's exit from politics could come 'not soon enough.'

 Joel Heitkamp had asked his sister when Clinton would 'ride off in the sunset.' 

'I don't know, not soon enough, I guess,' the Democratic senator first replied, before repeating her answer in a more definitive tone. 

Other Democrats and aides spoke out anonymously against Clinton too. 

'She's annoying me. She's annoying everyone, as far as I can tell,' one unnamed 2016 Clinton surrogate told the Hill on Tuesday. 'Who let's her say these things?'  

A former Obama White House official said, 'If these statements are a form of catharsis, it would be in the Democratic Party's best interest for her to get these out of her system soon.'  

'We need leaders like her to look forward to 2020 and how to unify the party, not continue to re-litigate the past,' the official said. 

In her note, Clinton vowed that she was looking ahead. 

'I want us to be free to focus on the future,' she promised. 

'A future in which I hope to be fighting for Democratic values of equal opportunity, social inclusion, and strong communities; for an economy that works for everyone; and for lifting up the next generation of leadership, particularly women,' she said.