Bill Clinton: Trump's base of support is people from the area 'I grew up in' - the 'standard redneck'

  • Arkansas-born former president said in a Florida rally Trump's base consists of people like the ones he knew growing up 
  • 'I'm basically your standard redneck,' Bill said; he rephrased the line on Wednesday as he campaigned in Iowa on Hillary's behalf
  • In both states he recalled the time his wife said there was 'no way' to carry West Virginia and sent him there to do her bidding
  • In Indianola, Iowa, on Wednesday he asserted that the 'number one source of income' in West Virginia 'is a disability check'
  • Earlier this month Clinton blasted Obamacare as 'crazy' in a remark that spoke to frustrations of conservatives and small business people 

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:55 EST, 12 October 2016 | Updated: 14:53 EST, 12 October 2016

Bill Clinton intimated at a Tuesday rally that Donald Trump's supporters are 'rednecks.'

The former president has been telling his wife's supporters that he understands the voters backing the Republican candidate because he had a similar upbringing.

'The other guy's base is what I grew up in,' he said Tuesday at a Fort Myers, Florida, stop. 'You know, I'm basically your standard redneck.'

Bill Clinton intimated at a Tuesday rally that Donald Trump's supporters are 'rednecks'

Bill Clinton intimated at a Tuesday rally that Donald Trump's supporters are 'rednecks'

Clinton rephrased the line on Wednesday as he campaigned in Iowa on Hillary's behalf.

Today he said, 'Just remember, I grew up in the culture that is now Hillary's opponent's base. Some of them believe things that we'll never believe and would never accept.'

At both events he talked about the time Hillary sent him to do her bidding in West Virginia. 

Bill says she told him, ' "There's no way that we can carry it," and I said, "No way." '

'First of all,' he said at the Tuesday rally, West Virginians 'only watch Fox News.'

He added, 'But to be fair they think we only care our political base and the people that agree with us culturally. And it's not true, but that's what they think.'

In Indianola, Iowa, on Wednesday he asserted that the 'number one source of income' in West Virginia 'is a disability check.'

The term 'redneck,' while politically fraught, is one that Donald Trump endorser Will Robertson of Duck Dynasty used to describe his own family in a speech in support of the billionaire at the Republican National Convention.

'When you grow up with rednecks, there are some occasional disagreements and sometimes those disagreements turn into fisticuffs,' he said. 'But, anytime I was in a bad spot, I always knew my brothers had my back.'

Bill Clinton, was born in Hope, Arkansas, and raised in Hot Springs. He left the state the attend college and law school, returning in the 1970s to run for office.

The ex-Arkansas governor got himself in hot water last week when he said that Obamacare is the 'craziest thing in the world' because so many Americans do not qualify for the subsidies.

The White House hung him out to dry, with press secretary Josh Earnest saying it's 'not exactly clear to me what argument he was making, and so I'll let him and his team explain that.'

The former president explained to reporters later in the week that he wasn't dinging Obama - the sitting executive wanted a government-run insurance plan, known as a public option, in the mix. 

Had that been included in the law, 'we wouldn't be dealing with this,' he said.

Trump said his wife was probably put him 'through hell' for the inartful description of Obama's signature accomplishment. 

Bill told media traveling with him on a bus tour through Ohio that Hillary didn't give him any 'grief' because she knows 'it was clear from what I said that there are problems with it, but I supported it strongly from the get go.' 

He continued to push the issue last week in speeches but spent very little time on it Wednesday. 

'Millions of people were helped by the healthcare law, but the people just above the limit for the subsidies, may not be able to afford insurance, and co-pays deductibles and drug prices are still too high,' was all he said before he moved on.

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