Bill Clinton Says He Always Stood Behind Hillary's Opposition To UAE Ports

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Bill Clinton Says He Always Stood Behind Hillary's Opposition To UAE Ports Deal

There was no Clinton family feud over the Dubai ports deal. That's the word from the former president.

“I supported Hillary's position, and the news reports to the contrary were wrong,” Clinton said Tuesday.

These were his first comments since the controversial deal fell apart last week. He told reporters at an event in Harlem the agreement for a company owned by the United Arab Emirates to take control of six U.S. ports, including one in New York, was a bad one.

Clinton says that's what he told the company, Dubai Ports World, when it called seeking advice.

“I told them I couldn't understand why they wanted to do this, given all the problems we have with port security,” said the former president. “I thought there would be tremendous public and Congressional opposition. If they were determined to press ahead, I thought they should not push the process, but should open it up, and they should actually propose things that would increase port security.”