Republican House candidate Ryan Zinke on Monday said that he doesn’t believe Hillary Clinton is the anti-Christ, a comparison he drew during a campaign event last week.
“I would say this: It was perhaps a little harsh,” he told the Daily Inter Lake.
While Zinke said that the comparison was an exaggeration, he reiterated that he does not like Clinton or the way she responded to the attack upon a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
“I had two friends in Benghazi and the truth does matter,” he said.
Zinke, a state senator in Montana, is running for the House seat expected to be vacated by Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT), who will likely run for retiring Sen. Max Baucus’ (D-MT) seat.
Zinke also said he was upset by former Defense Secretary Bob Gates’ claim in his new book that Clinton opposed the Iraq War surge for political reasons.
“I think it’s unacceptable to have someone put politics ahead of the safety of our troops as the commander in chief,” he said, indicating that Clinton’s position makes her unfit to be president.
The candidate also said that none of the national media outlets that covered his remark contacted him for a response.
“No one talked to me about it. It’s not truth they are after,” he said. “They are trying to paint me as something I’m not.”
[H/t Huffington Post]