"I'm not a lawyer, but they've stirred up a lot of hatred," Clanton continued to rail on Fox News Channel's "Dayside with Linda Vester."

"We've got thousands of people now very mad, jackballed up - calling these [Sinclair] stations, protesting, threatening boycotts of their sponsors," he claimed.

"I think they're going to regret doing this," the Kerry spokesman warned before adding - "They better hope we don't win."

When asked if he meant his words as a threat, Clanton told Vester no.

But hours later, after top talk radio host Rush Limbaugh aired a tape of the exchange, he said Clanton's comments sounded to him like "a big threat" to retaliate if Kerry wins the White House.

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