Former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton was forced to duck for cover yesterday when a protester threw a shoe at her during a speech in Las Vegas.

Clinton, 66, was speaking at a recycling conference in the gambling mecca when the incident occurred, the Las Vegas Journal reported, but appeared to take things in stride after ducking to miss the projectile.

“Is that part of Cirque de Soleil?” Clinton quipped, referring to the popular circus act. “My goodness, I didn’t know that solid waste management was so controversial.”

The report said the local police had arrested a woman suspected of throwing the shoe at Clinton.

Clinton is widely expected to run for president in 2016, but has so far remained coy about her plans.

- dpa