North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said on Tuesday evening he will continue to support Donald Trump’s presidential run, but called on the fellow Republican to clean up his language.
“Mr. Trump needs to have his mouth washed out with soap, but so does Mrs. Clinton,” said McCrory, referring to lewd comments Trump made about women in 2005.
McCrory’s opponent, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, pounced on McCrory for not abandoning Trump following the recent scandal.
“It’s hard to believe that Gov. McCrory continued to support a presidential candidate who condones sexual assault,” Cooper said. “Gov. McCrory and Donald Trump are a lot alike. They both have trouble with the facts and they both engage in divisive rhetoric.”
McCrory charged Cooper with backing former President Bill Clinton, who has been accused of sexual assault.
The debate was moderated by NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, who traveled to the Research Triangle for the gubernatorial debate. Todd asked both men how they would go forward with the state’s HB2 law, which states individuals must use the public restroom or locker room that his or her birth certificate correspondents.
Todd also asked how each would direct Caitlin Jenner, a transgender celebrity known for winning an Olympic medal as Bruce Jenner decades earlier.
McCrory said he would direct Jenner to the men’s restroom, while Cooper said he would keep the state out of people’s personal affairs.
“We need a good jobs governor, not an HB2 governor,” said Cooper, who added he would turn back the law. “Gov. McCrory wants to be a Carolina Comeback governor. I want to be a ‘Come back to North Carolina governor.'”
