Arkansas GOP Official Says He Doesn't Actually Want Hillary Clinton To Get Shot

An official in the Arkansas Republican Party insists he didn't mean Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton any harm when he told U.S. News she would "probably get shot at the state line" if she pursued the presidency.

"That comment was taken way out of context. ... It certainly was not meant in a threatening or hostile way at all. It was just a comment. Perhaps I used the wrong word," 2nd Congressional District chairman Johnny Rhoda told Business Insider Tuesday. "It was completely blown out of proportion."

Rhoda, who has been described as a prominent member of his state's Republican Party, did not dispute the accuracy of the quote but simply said he was making a point about Clinton's poor political prospects in the GOP-leaning state where husband, former President Bill Clinton, was once governor. He also said he was laughing when the comment was made and was surprised it made its way into the news.

"I didn't think the guy was going to print the thing," he said of U.S. News reporter David Catanese.

Reached for comment, Catanese disputed the notion that the quote was taken out of context.

"Oh yes, taken out of context," Catanese wrote to Business Insider, dryly. "As in -- taken out of our on the record conversation and into print."