WASHINGTON Two decades after President Bill Clinton apologized to the nation for the actions that led to his impeachment, President Donald Trump also apologized not for his actions, but for the very evil and sick people who put his family through a phony, rotten deal.

Clinton took one minute and 19 seconds to deliver his prepared statement after his Senate acquittal in 1999 on charges based on his affair with a White House intern. It was 129 words long, and included: I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people. He walked away from the lectern when asked if he felt vindicated.