CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte says she wouldn’t want her 12-year-old daughter in a room with Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.
“I wouldn’t want my daughter in the room with any of them,” Ayotte, who’s running for re-election against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, said Wednesday during a talk radio interview on WNTK.
Ayotte’s remark was in response to a question from host Keith Hanson, who brought up a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape featuring Trump talking about forcing himself on women, kissing them and groping them. Hanson then asked if Ayotte would want her daughter in a room with Clinton once she turns 16.
After answering, Ayotte continued, “This isn’t about my daughter. I love my daughter, and obviously being a mom is very important to me.”
Hanson didn’t directly spell out the meaning of his question, saying it was about Clinton’s and Trump’s “character” and “indictments that are coming against both of those candidates.”
Ayotte cited her daughter, Kate Ayotte, as a reason for withdrawing her support from Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, after the 2005 tape emerged a few weeks ago.
Ayotte now says she’ll write in Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana, instead of voting for Trump. That’s after months of saying she would support but not endorse Trump and after she said in a debate Trump “absolutely” would be a good role model for children and then backtracked, saying she had misspoken.
“He’s talking about sexual assault of women,” Ayotte said Oct. 9, two days after the 2005 tape was released. “I’ve thought about years from now, when my daughter, Kate, is old enough to know what is in those tapes and to understand what he is talking about, I want her to know where I stood.”
Despite dropping her support for Trump, Ayotte in a recent radio interview agreed when the host said if Trump wins “he’s going to need some people in the Senate who can actually make some of the changes he’s talking about.” She said, “That’s right.”
Ayotte and Hassan are in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate contests. The Republican Party is struggling to keep its 54-46 Senate majority, and the race could tip control to Democrats.
Hassan has said Ayotte’s withdrawal of support for Trump came too late. She has accused Ayotte of lacking good judgment and making decisions based on politics.
Ayotte and Hassan also have accused each other of being beholden to special interests, with Hassan saying Ayotte caters to the oil and pharmaceutical industries and Ayotte contending Hassan was recruited in the race by Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., to be a rubber stamp for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.