Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump surprised no one on Monday when he repeated a New Hampshire rally attendee’s comment that rival (and Iowa Caucus winner) Ted Cruz was a “pussy.” One would assume that, all things being equal, the 2016 presidential race would have achieved the singularity with Trump’s all-too-happy delivery of the insult, but as of Tuesday morning, the New Hampshire primary is still underway. Hence why infamous Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson was all too happy to support her employer’s shenanigans on CNN’s morning program, New Day.
When CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota asked Pierson about the incident, the latter brushed off the incident like it was nothing. No, really… that’s exactly what she did.
“I don’t really think it’s news that Donald Trump is not politically correct. He did repeat what the voter said… When he is out with his supporters, he is talking to them like he’s at a friend’s house. And this has been the same all the way through the campaign trail.”
Alice Stewart, a former Mike Huckabee spokesperson who has since jumped ship for the Cruz campaign, took the opportunity to lampoon Trump’s candidacy. She called him a “reality TV star” and took the high ground, but these criticisms seemingly had no effect on Pierson. The Trump surrogate simply pressed on with her support.
“When we look at the founding fathers and when they were competing, they said far worse things about each other when they were campaigning. This is not nothing new. This is politics… One of the things that is appealing to Mr. Trump is he is breaking that politically correct mold.”
Camerota interrupted, asking Pierson rather pointedly what the difference was — if any — “between political correctness and vulgarity” in the Trump campaign. Pierson’s response? Free speech.
“What I’m saying is it’s free speech, and this is the ‘Live Free or Die’ state. Mr. Trump is exercising his free speech, it was in fun with the audience.”
As vulgar as Trump’s comment (or repetition of a comment) was, Pierson has a point. Not about Trump’s not wanting to be politically correct, per se, or that such a position on political correctness contra non-offending speech is correct. Rather, she probably isn’t kidding about Trump acting like “he’s at a friend’s house” whenever he delivers his wandering oratories at campaign events.
After all, Uproxx attended one of these rallies in Oklahoma, and this is pretty much what it was like.
(Via Raw Story)