Sanders: I Won’t Be Drawn Into A Debate Over Bill Clinton’s Past Scandals (VIDEO)

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at the NBC, YouTube Democratic presidential debate at the Gaillard Center, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday night said that he does not regret saying that former President Bill Clinton’s past behavior was “totally disgraceful and unacceptable,” but noted that he did not bring up the issue himself and that he will continue to debate Hillary Clinton on the issues.

During the Sunday night Democratic presidential debate, moderator Andrea Mitchell asked Sanders if he regretted his response about Bill Clinton’s behavior during a town hall earlier in the month.

“Look, Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton,” Sanders said at an Iowa town hall when asked about Hillary Clinton’s support for her husband. “But what Bill Clinton did was totally, totally, totally disgraceful and unacceptable. But I am running against Hillary Clinton, not Bill Clinton.”

On Sunday night, Sanders emphasized that he has not brought up Bill Clinton’s past himself.

“I was asked a question,” Sanders said. “And that question annoys me.”

“I cannot walk down the street, Secretary Clinton knows that, without being told how much I have to attack Secretary Clinton,” he continued, nothing that he’s avoided “vicious” attacks.

“You didn’t have to answer it that way though, why did you?” Mitchell asked in response.

“Then if I don’t, there’s another front page,” Sanders replied. “Yes — and I mean this seriously, we’ve been through this — yes, his behavior was deplorable.”

The Vermont senator said he was determined to debate his Democratic rivals “on the issues facing the American people, not Bill Clinton’s personal behavior.”

Watch the clip:

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