Matt Bevin, the first-term Republican governor of Kentucky, said at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. last weekend that while the country could “recover” from a Clinton presidency, blood would be shed in the quest to “reclaim” the country.
“I do think it would be possible,” for the country to recover, he said, according to The Atlantic, “but at what price?”
“Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren...Don’t let it happen.”
According to the Associated Press, the governor’s office later clarified that Bevin was speaking of military lives that could be lost if Clinton follows in President Obama’s footsteps in dealing with ISIS, saying, “We cannot be complacent about the determination of radical Islamic extremists to destroy our freedoms.”
Later in his speech, he mentioned other controversial issues, like abortion, and encouraged Christians to be vocal about their opinions.
“Look at the atrocity of abortion, so many have remained silent,” he said. “It’s a slippery slope. First we’re killing children, then it’s ‘don’t ask don’t tell.’ Now it’s this gender-bending, don’t ask, don’t be a bigot, don’t be unreasonable, don’t be unenlightened, heaven forbid.”
As far as controversy following his statements goes, Bevin says not to take his words out of context.
“I would encourage anyone who truly cares about this issue to invest 15 minutes of time and listen to my comments in their entirety,” he said. “Any intelligent person will easily understand the message I delivered.”