A Republican Mississippi gubernatorial candidate refused to budge Wednesday on his decision to bar a reporter from shadowing his campaign because she is a woman.
Robert Foster, a current state representative, blocked Larrison Campbell of Mississippi Today from shadowing the campaign, citing the “Billy Graham Rule” which, as Foster explained, is meant “to avoid any situation that may evoke suspicion or compromise [his] marriage.”
Before our decision to run, my wife and I made a commitment to follow the “Billy Graham Rule”, which is to avoid any situation that may evoke suspicion or compromise of our marriage. I am sorry Ms. Campbell doesn’t share these views, but my decision was out of respect of my wife. https://t.co/5tjH2x2g65
— Robert Foster (@RobertFoster4MS) July 10, 2019
Foster responded to a New York Times article about the ban with a tweet Wednesday evening that read, “I refuse to change my moral stance on any issue because it’s not popular among the radical left. My wife and the State of Mississippi deserve a governor who doesn’t compromise their beliefs, and I’m sticking to my guns.”
I refuse to change my moral stance on any issue because it’s not popular among the radical left. My wife and the State of Mississippi deserve a governor who doesn’t compromise their beliefs, and I’m sticking to my guns. https://t.co/5wyTYKhr5H
— Robert Foster (@RobertFoster4MS) July 10, 2019
“I will not be intimidated into a corner of silence by a group of radical Socialists and Communists whose goal in life is to dismantle America,” Foster also tweeted. “In fact, I’m looking forward to fighting their radical, left-wing agenda.”
Prior to the New York Times article, Campbell published a piece about Foster’s decision to prevent her from shadowing the campaign Tuesday.
It read in part, “Colton Robison, Foster’s campaign director, said a male colleague would need to accompany this reporter on an upcoming 15-hour campaign trip because they believed the optics of the candidate with a woman, even a working reporter, could be used in a smear campaign to insinuate an extramarital affair.”
