Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is promising to hit Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “below the belt” in the next debate. Many are speculating that it means her husband’s affairs will come up. Trump surrogate and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge discussed the issue with MSNBC’s Craig Melvin, who was not about to let her off easy.
Trump Doubled-Down On Statement About Alicia Machado’s Weight
The morning after the debate, rather than take the high road, Trump brought up Machado‘s weight again. Melvin opened his segment with Trump surrogate Leslie Rutledge by asking her what she thought of the comment. Rather than answer his question, Rutledge tried to go with the “there are so many other more important issues” tactic.
She then switched to attempting to paint Clinton as someone who has a horrible record with women. Melvin tried, several times, to get Rutledge back on topic as she robotically repeated talking points. He finally got a word in, saying, with an eyeroll:
“Ms. Rutledge, the man at the top of the GOP ticket, instead of letting it go yesterday morning, he decided again to double-down and talk about a woman’s ‘massive weight gain’! You’re a politician, you’ve run campaigns — In what world would you criticize a rival, one of your supporters, one of their supporters … Not just for their appearance on a political level, just in life in general? Why do that if you’re running for President of the United States? Why do it?”
Again, Rutledge dodged his question, answering with:
“Well, why, as the wife of a president would you ignore your husband’s indiscretions?”
Melvin pressed her for an answer to his original question, asking, again, “Why talk about that?” Rutledge decided to say that he had been asked about it, though he had NOT been asked that. What the sycophants on “Fox and Friends” ACTUALLY asked him was if Clinton had “gotten under his skin.” Trump was the one who decided to bring up Machado again.
Trump Surrogate Flails When Asked If Trump Is A Good Role Model For Women
Rutledge kept pressing the Trump campaign talking points. However, when the discussion turned to “role models,” Melvin did not mince words. He said:
“This issue of Bill Clinton’s past. It’s been brought up recently by Donald Trump, it’s been brought up by Rudy Giuliani as well — who, we should remind folks, announced at a 2000 press conference that he was leaving his second wife to be with his mistress. He’s on his third wife. Donald Trump’s on his third wife. Do you really want to talk about the Clintons’ indiscretions? Are those the two guys that you want … If you’re going to play the moral card, are these the guys to play it?”
Again, Rutledge attempted to counter with Hillary Clinton’s “treatment of women,” continuously going back to an alleged comment she made about Monica Lewinsky, calling her a “neurotic loony tune.”
The Arkansas Times, a paper with a history of calling out Rutledge for all the vile things she’s done, wrote:
“We don’t know for sure that Hillary Clinton ever said that. We do know it was said privately. And we do know that, in 2014, 18 years after Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, it came out because a reporter for a conservative newspaper dug through the personal papers of the late Diane Blair, the University of Arkansas professor and friend of Hillary.”
Regardless, Rutledge used this line several times, which prompted Melvin to ask her:
“So Donald Trump would be a better role model for women? Is that the contention now?”
Rutledge sputtered and seemed unsure of herself before saying, “That is … not what I’m saying …”
Of course it’s not, because, deep down, I think you know he’s awful, Ms. Rutledge.
Watch the entire exchange here:
Featured Image via screen shot from YouTube video
