“Clearly a tremendous number of people did not fully appreciate what it was that I was communicating, and I hurt a lot of people."

Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Kentucky public school teachers rally for a "day of action" at the Kentucky state Capitol to try to pressure legislators to override Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin's recent veto of the state's tax and budget bills.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin apologized Sunday for comments he made two days earlier, in which he accused public school teachers protesting proposed education cuts of leaving children vulnerable to being "sexually assaulted" and "physically harmed." "I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them," Bevin reporters Friday, after thousands of teachers protested across the state. "I guarantee you somewhere today a child was physically harmed or ingested poison because they were home alone because a single parent didn’t have any money to take care of them."

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin on the teacher rallies today. “I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them.” https://t.co/Q4PpzFsTt2

On Sunday, Bevin issued an apology of sorts, saying in a four-minute video that his remarks had "unintended consequences."

"Many people have been confused or hurt or just misunderstand what it was that I was trying to communicate," Bevin said. "Many people have been confused or hurt or just misunderstand what it was that I was trying to communicate," Bevin said. “For those of you who understood what I’m saying, thank you. But clearly a tremendous number of people did not fully appreciate what it was that I was communicating, and I hurt a lot of people,” he continued. “I apologize for those who have been hurt by the things that were said. That was not my intent whatsoever.” "For those of you who have been hurt, it is my absolute, sincere apology to you," he said. "It is not my intent to hurt anybody in this process but to help us all move forward together. We need each other. We're in this together. We are Kentucky."

It is my responsibility to represent you, not only when I’m speaking to you but also when I’m speaking on your behalf. It is not my intent to hurt anyone...but to help us all move forward. We need each other. We’re in this together. #WeAreKY https://t.co/2MzQaoJGNk

Bevin's initial remarks came as the Kentucky state Senate voted 20–18 Friday to override his the governor's veto of House Bill 366, a tax measure to increase funding for public schools following weeks of protests by teachers across the state. Over 30 school districts closed on Friday as a result of the protests, and between 4,000 and 5,000 teachers demonstrated outside the state to voice opposition to the budget cuts, as well as a pension reform bill, the Lexington Herald Leader reported. When asked by reporters what he thought of the protests, Bevin described it with disdain. "I saw a lot of people hanging out, shoes off — even early in the morning — hanging out smoking, leaving trash around, taking the day off," he said.

"You know how many hundreds of thousands of children today were left home alone?" said Bevin on Friday afternoon. "Children were harmed — some physically, some sexually, some were introduced to drugs for the first time — because they were vulnerable and left alone." Bevin's office did not respond Saturday to a BuzzFeed News' request for comment, and his office did not reply to questions about whether the governor had evidence backing up his concerns.



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