In 1996, Helms caused controversy by seeming to threaten then president [[Bill Clinton]] when he said 'Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here (North Carolina). He'd better have a bodyguard'.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/66/41/27741.html The Columbia World of Quotations]</ref>
The following day, he said:
{{Cquote|I made a mistake last evening which I shall not repeat. In an informal telephone interview with a local reporter I made an offhand remark…Of course I didn’t expect to be taken literally when, to emphasize the cost and concerns I am hearing, I far too casually suggested that the President might need a bodyguard, or words to that effect.}}
== Humanitarian ==