Hillary Clinton weighed in on a recent controversy surrounding remarks made by Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee but declined to discuss her position on the Keystone XL pipeline in Iowa on Monday.
During a Q&A session at a transit station in Des Moines, Clinton was asked about Huckabee’s recent criticism of the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal. In an interview with Breitbart News this weekend, Huckabee said that President Obama is “naive” to trust the Iranians and that by doing so, “he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”
Clinton joined numerous others who have criticized the former Arkansas governor’s remarks, which some have said are anti-Semitic.
“Comments like these are offensive and they have no place in our political dialogue,” Clinton told reporters, adding that she is “disappointed” and “really offended personally.”
“I know Governor Huckabee, I have a cordial relationship with him,” said Clinton. “But I find this kind of inflammatory rhetoric totally unacceptable. One can disagree with the particulars of the agreement to put a lid on the nuclear weapons program if Iran and that is fair game but this steps over the line and it should be repudiated by every person of good faith and concern about the necessity to keep our political dialogue on the facts and within suitable boundaries.”
On Sunday, the Democratic frontrunner unveiled a “bold” new plan to tackle climate change. By implementing a series of tax incentives and by rolling back tax credits for oil companies, Clinton hopes to increase the number of solar panels in use in the U.S. by 700 percent by 2020.
Clinton said she hopes to reduce the amount of oil used in the U.S. and throughout the world during her presidency.
The former secretary of state was also asked, again, about her position on the Keystone XL pipeline.
The pipeline — which would transport oil from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. but is being held up by the Obama administration — will likely factor into Clinton’s plans. But as she’s done numerous times before, Clinton declined to weigh in on the matter.
“I will refrain from commenting,” she told reporters.
Hillary Clinton on Keystone pipeline: "I will refrain from commenting."
— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) July 27, 2015
In the past, Clinton has declined to weigh in on the pipeline, saying instead that she wants to let the State Department decide what to do. But environmentalists and many voters in the Democratic base oppose the pipeline. And while Clinton has been reluctant to weigh in on whether it should be built, two other Democratic contenders, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, have said that they oppose the project.