If you read it carefully, he didn't apologize for the comment or the sentiment behind it. He only said his timing could have been better. I think I like the man.
Ahhh, if only I could read... Good point! Even in his 'apology' he asserts truth!
“Make men large and strong and tyranny will bankrupt itself in making shackles for them.” – Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) US Abolitionist Preacher