Kelly Ayotte says she 'misspoke' when she said Trump is a role model


Almost as quickly as she gave Donald Trump a compliment, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) took it away, saying she "misspoke" when she said he is "absolutely" a role model for children.
Ayotte is up for reelection, and on Monday she participated in a debate against her opponent, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D). Ayotte was asked if she sees the Republican presidential nominee as a role model, and responded, "Well, I think that certainly there are many role models that we have, and I believe he can serve as president and so absolutely I would do that." Ayotte has said previously she does support Trump in his quest for the presidency, but revealed on Monday she won't officially endorse him because she has had "some disagreements" with him.
Not long after the debate ended, Ayotte's campaign released a statement saying: "I misspoke tonight. While I would hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example and I wouldn't hold up either of them as role models for my kids." Ouch. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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