On Monday, the hosts on NBC’s Today and CBS This Morning demanded Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway explain herself for daring to invite Bill Clinton’s sexual assault accusers to Sunday night’s debate. By contrast, Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook got nothing but softballs tossed his way on the same morning shows.
On Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie pressed: “...it sounds like the Trump campaign was trying to get going at the beginning of the debate, where the four Clinton – Bill Clinton accusers would come face to face with Bill Clinton himself....was that the plan?....What was the campaign hoping to accomplish?”
After Conway detailed some of the allegations against Clinton, Guthrie immediately tried to turn the attention back on Trump:
Yeah, fair enough. And those allegations are out there and people can look into them. But I guess the question is, for Donald Trump, who’s actually on the ticket, and Bill Clinton, who is not, how does Bill Clinton's alleged wrongdoing absolve Donald Trump of what he's accused of in light of those tapes with Access Hollywood? I mean, what – how does that fix what people are upset about Donald Trump for?
Conway pushed back: “No, let's not conflate the two. So this does not have to do with Bill Clinton, it has to do with the way Hillary Clinton shamed and blamed the women in Bill Clinton's life.” Guthrie tried to again dismiss the criticism: “...even if that were true, and people can make their own decisions about whether or not it is, I guess the question is, it's Donald Trump who has to answer for himself.”
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On This Morning, co-host Norah O’Donnell similarly wrung her hands over the former president’s sex scandals being brought up:
What was the point, Kellyanne, of having the women there in that Facebook Live chat? It wasn't a press conference because reporters weren't allowed to ask them questions, but what was the point of bringing them forward? Do you think that that plays well with women voters?
In part, Conway replied: “These women want to be heard. And I'm sure they would be available to come on your show any time.”
Near the end of the exchange, fellow co-host Gayle King bizarrely attempted to suggest a hidden meaning behind Melania Trump’s fashion choice at the debate, referencing the leaked Access Hollywood audio of Donald Trump:
KING: Kellyanne, there’s a story making the rounds on social media about what Melania Trump wore. A Gucci pussy bow silk crepe de chine blouse. Under the circumstances, do you think that’s a good choice?
CONWAY: I know nothing about her outfit accept that she looked beautiful in it, as she always does. But I don’t confer with – confer with her –
KING: Don't miss the point that I'm making. Don't miss the point that I'm making. Yes, she looked beautiful and lovely. That wasn't the question. I just think under the circumstances that seemed an unusual choice.
Here are transcripts of the questions to Conway on the October 10 broadcasts:
Today
7:05 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We're joined now by Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump's campaign manager. Kellyanne, good morning. Thanks for being up early with a late night, I know.
KELLYANNE COWAY: Yes, thank you.
GUTHRIE: Let me start by asking about this scenario that it sounds like the Trump campaign was trying to get going at the beginning of the debate, where the four Clinton – Bill Clinton accusers would come face to face with Bill Clinton himself. Number one, was that the plan? And, number two, what was the hope there? What was the campaign hoping to accomplish?
(...)
GUTHRIE: Yeah, fair enough. And those allegations are out there and people can look into them. But I guess the question is, for Donald Trump, who’s actually on the ticket, and Bill Clinton, who is not, how does Bill Clinton's alleged wrongdoing absolve Donald Trump of what he's accused of in light of those tapes with Access Hollywood? I mean, what – how does that fix what people are upset about Donald Trump for?
CONWAY: No, let's not conflate the two. So this does not have to do with Bill Clinton, it has to do with the way Hillary Clinton shamed and blamed the women in Bill Clinton's life. And you saw a New York Times article days after they endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, Savannah, they came around and they said, “Hey, look at the modus operandi that Hillary Clinton deployed against these women.” And in the case of Kathy Shelton, that has nothing to do with Bill Clinton.
GUTHRIE: Even if that were true –
CONWAY: It was Hillary Rodham Clinton who –
GUTHRIE: Just to zero in on it real quickly. Because even if that were true, and people can make their own decisions about whether or not it is, I guess the question is, it's Donald Trump who has to answer for himself. So how does bringing –
CONWAY: And he did that. You just played the clip.
(...)
LESTER HOLT: Kellyanne, a lot of Republicans thought he would be more contrite and offer a more heartfelt apology and he wrote off this tape, essentially, to “locker room talk.” Is that the end of it? Is that all we're going to hear from Mr. Trump on this issue?
CONWAY: That is not all he said. That would be a terrible misrepresentation of the one minute and 32 second video that he came out with.
HOLT: But he kept coming back to the point it was locker room talk. So my question is, is that all he really has to say?
(...)
HOLT: Lastly, was this a good night for American politics?
(...)
GUTHRIE: Alright, we’re out of time, we’ve got to leave it there. Kellyanne Conway with the Trump campaign, thank you so much, we appreciate it.
CONWAY: Thank you.
CBS This Morning
8:04 AM ET
NORAH O’DONNELL: Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway joins us from Trump Tower in New York. Good morning, Kellyanne.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: Good morning.
O’DONNELL: The Washington Post is reporting that the Trump campaign wanted to seat the women who have accused Bill Clinton of indiscretion in the VIP box. Were you upset that the Commission on Presidential Debates thwarted that?
(...)
O’DONNELL: What was the point, Kellyanne, of having the women there in that Facebook Live chat? It wasn't a press conference because reporters weren't allowed to ask them questions, but what was the point of bringing them forward? Do you think that that plays well with women voters?
CONWAY: It wasn't a Facebook Live chat. These women want to be heard. And I'm sure they would be available to come on your show any time.
(...)
CONWAY: In the case of Kathy Shelton, she was a 12-year-old rape victim, that is not in dispute. And Hillary Clinton represented, successfully, her accuser. Got him a plea deal.
O’DONNELL: She was selected by a judge – she was selected by a judge to defend the man.
CONWAY: And she did so. And a year later laughed about the tactics in getting him to have the plea deal. But she deserves to be heard.
CHARLIE ROSE: Kellyanne, do you expect there to be more videos and more people coming forward to talk about Donald Trump in the way this video spoke about Donald Trump?
(...)
GAYLE KING: He went point-by-point. Can you tell us about the relationship between Mike Pence and Donald Trump today? He seemed to throw Mr. Pence under the bus last night.
CONWAY: No that’s not true. In fact, Mike Pence is on other networks right now talking about what a fabulous job his running mate, the top of the ticket, did in the debate last night.
KING: But over the weekend he was nowhere to be seen, Kellyanne. I know he’s out there today, but he was nowhere to be seen over the weekend.
CONWAY: No, that’s actually not true. Friday he was active.
(...)
ROSE: Do you expect that Speaker Ryan to keep his endorsement of Donald Trump or will he defect as well?
(...)
ROSE: But what are these defections doing to the campaign? These are people who had endorsed Donald Trump, who were hopeful that he would be a different kind of candidate, and now they’re dis-endorsing him. What does that do to the campaign?
(...)
KING: Kellyanne, there’s a story making the rounds on social media about what Melania Trump wore. A Gucci pussy bow silk crepe de chine blouse. Under the circumstances, do you think that’s a good choice?
CONWAY: I know nothing about her outfit except that she looked beautiful in it, as she always does. But I don’t confer with – confer with her –
KING: Don't miss the point that I'm making. Don't miss the point that I'm making. Yes, she looked beautiful and lovely. That wasn't the question. I just think under the circumstances that seemed an unusual choice. But we thank you. Thank you very much for joining us today. Really appreciate it.
CONWAY: Thank you.
