President Clinton calls out Bevin on budget cuts to education

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- In a five day span that’s seen a former first daughter and likely Democratic candidate visit the Bluegrass State, a former president joins the ranks to complete a Clinton trifecta.

President Bill Clinton spent time in Morehead, Tuesday morning before arriving a few moments late to his scheduled appearance at UK. The front lawn of the William T. Young Library, covered with students, anxious to hear what the former president had to say.

But first, he had to be introduced.

“With the current budget cuts that state funded institutions face over the next few years,” is how UK Student Body President Rowan Reed started her short introduction. It wouldn’t be the first time, Republican Governor Matt Bevin’s budget cuts to public universities came up.

“What do you think the chances are that this governor and this legislature would pay for a third of the tuition? After they just got through cutting higher ed,” says President Clinton. He also went on to present Hillary’s plans for education which include debt-free graduation for students and more assistance for tuition costs.

The Clinton patriarch acknowledged the plan for free education would require each state to foot about one third of the funding.

Regardless of who pays for college tuition, students at UK agree it’s an important campaign topic.

“Pricing of schools would be for sure, I know Donald Trump’s talking a lot about making it so that the school’s not getting much money from anybody else so we’d have to pay a lot more for that,” says junior Daniel Guy.

Guy says no one has won his vote yet but education will be a large part of who he chooses.

Another student, Brendon Wood observed Clinton while wearing his “Make America Great Again” cap. He supports likely Republican nominee Donald Trump but says he’s a fan of Bill Clinton, just not Hillary.

The visit to Lexington is one of three stops Bill Clinton makes Tuesday. His presence is one political experts say could have an impact on Hillary’s popularity in Kentucky.

“You know a lot of people remember the nineties, the prosperity of the Clinton era and she can draw on that as part of that brand,” says UK political science professor, Stephen Voss.

Clinton wrapped up his tour of the Bluegrass in Louisville, Tuesday evening while Hillary finished off her “Breaking Down Barriers” Tour of Appalachia in Athens, Ohio.