Hillary Clinton remained vague on her presidential aspirations for 2016 when speaking at the National Automobiles Dealer Association conference on Monday and spoke about her regrets while serving as the Unites States Secretary of States, Reuters reported.
During a question-and-answer session after giving her keynote speech at the three-day conference,Clinton told more than 20,000 dealers her biggest "regret is what happened in Benghazi," according to Reuters.
The Benghazi attack on U.S. diplomatic compound and another CIA base nearby on Sept. 11 2012 killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Reuters reported.
The attack occurred while President Barack Obama was running for reelection and many criticized him from brushing Benghazi's importance aside because he was campaigning for a second term, according to Reuters.
If Clinton decides to run for president in 2016, Republicans will surely make it a key factor against her, Reuters reported.
NADA is a group of politically active car dealers who backed Bill Clinton and are known favorite among Democratic president contenders, Reuters reported.
Clinton also spoke about her accomplishments like recommending U.S. commandos go into Pakistan and kill Osama bin Laden, according to Reuters.
NADA's selection of Clinton to be the keynote speaker at the conference raised questions by opposition about whether the association had plans of backing Clinton in the presidential run, Reuters reported. NADA also declined to state how much Clinton was paid for her speech.
The association usually gives a large contribution to their chosen candidate and they gave more than $85 million to Republicans in 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Reuters reported.
"Mrs. Clinton is a polarizing figure but that's OK," David Shepard, a NADA director said, according to Reuters. Shepard also stated Clinton's selection as keynote speaker does not mean NADA is endorsing her in 2016.
After being introduced by another NADA director, Jack Caldwell who went to school with Bill Clinton, she spoke about the auto industry's importance in the U.S. and around the world, highlighting the General Motors engine plant in Uzbekistan which gave the U.S. a competitive edge over China, Reuters reported.
"She has a pretty good understanding about what we do, especially in business," Chris Daggs, a Ford Motor Co dealer in Crestview, Florida told Reuters. "I've always felt she was someone more in our corner as a dealer."
