2 words HAD in a row

Question

I don't understand this sentence, what are two words "HAD" mean?

"I think they may have thought that reaching out to people who represent what is now the mainstream way of thinking and HAD who HAD more access to the Trump administration than people in past was a better way to send messages or get information," said Bruce Klingner.

CNN — (beware the autoplay video)

I think "had who had" is a typo remaining after indecision whether to write "who had" or "had had". But you might like to read this about multiple had. — Weather Vane, Sep 29 '17 at 18:25
Typo? I thought so at first , but why not just word "HAVE"? Present tense is more appropriate in this context I think — Koss M, Sep 29 '17 at 20:25
It’s a quote which contains (self-) corrected speech. The first had can be ignored. Cf @Weather’s comment. — Arm the good guys in America, Sep 29 '17 at 21:48
Dear Clare, are you sure it's self-correction by Mr. Clinger? — Koss M, Sep 30 '17 at 14:21
Weather Vane , "may have thought " is present ( perfect) tense, not past tense — Koss M, Sep 30 '17 at 14:22
@KossM it is punctuated as a direct quote of the speaker's words, so that is what any reader should assume. — Arm the good guys in America, Sep 30 '17 at 15:17
I’m voting to close this question because it is almost certainly predicated on a typo. — Edwin Ashworth, May 27 '23 at 14:28

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 27 '23 at 06:00

1

This is almost certainly a typo in the article or an error on the part of the person being quoted. The first "had" should have been omitted.

answered May 27 '23 at 06:00

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2 words HAD in a row

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