Chelsea Clinton was confronted by a group of New York University students over her stance on Muslims at a vigil for the New Zealand mosque attacks on Friday.
"I'm so sorry that you feel that way. It was certainly never my intention. I do believe words matter. I believe we have to show solidarity," Clinton told students who accosted her at the vigil.
"This, right here, is the result of the massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you have put out into the world," a female student responded. "I want you to know that. I want you to feel that deep inside. The 49 people died because of the rhetoric you put out there."
"I'm so sorry that you feel that way," Clinton repeated.
"I don't think…" the girl replied, when another student interrupted: "What does 'I'm sorry you feel that way' mean? What does that mean?"
Here is a pregnant Chelsea Clinton being accosted in public by NYU students blaming her for the New Zealand massacre. You are free to have your opinion, but how you express yourself matters. Note how Clinton never shuts down or stops listening, despite not deserving any of this. pic.twitter.com/V6XcC3lWCB
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) 16 марта 2019 г.
The girl who was seen calling out Clinton in the video appears to be a pro-Palestine Muslim activist and a sympathiser of the Black Lives Matter movement.
She refused to apologise for her words and explained that she didn't plan the confrontation. However, she added she would still attempt to "disrupt" Clinton if she spoke and say the same things she said in the recorded exchange.
"I didn't tell Chelsea Clinton she was the one who put a gun to Muslims' heads," she tweeted. "I said, and continue to say, that by jumping on the right-wing bandwagon and vilifying Ilhan Omar, she fed into the exact discourse we were at the vigil to protest."
It was an apparent reference to a scandal that erupted last month after Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said that pro-Israeli lobbying groups, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), buys support for the Jewish state from US Congress.
Her comments were met with backlash from members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Clinton also joined in, tweeting: "We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism."
Omar was forced to apologise, saying that her "Jewish allies" educated her "on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes".
The row resulted in the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passing a resolution that condemned hate speech.
The Clinton-activist confrontation has made waves on social media, with many commenters — even those from the right — siding with the former first daughter.
I've watched in awe as Chelsea Clinton calmly dispatches fools on Twitter, day after day.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) 16 марта 2019 г.
No insults.
No burns.
She politely kills em with kindness.
Today, she was attacked IRL by some fool blaming her for the New Zealand attack. She's pregnant.
She's got grit like her Mom.
— Elliot Avigael (@elliot_avigael) 16 марта 2019 г.
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) 16 марта 2019 г.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) 16 марта 2019 г.
