New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte pulled back on statements calling Republican nominee Donald Trump a good role model for children in a debate Monday.
“I misspoke tonight,” Ayotte said in a prepared statement. “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.”
The moderator asked Ayotte if she felt Trump would make a good role model for children, and if she would go so far as to tell children to “be like Donald Trump.”
“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 answered.
Ayotte immediately faced criticism because she refused to endorse Trump in August.
“I’ve had some disagreements with him and I’ve been quite clear about those disagreements,” Ayotte said in the official statement. “This is an area where Governor Hassan has been lockstep with Secretary Clinton. I haven’t heard major disagreements that she’s had with Secretary Clinton, so who’s going to stand up on behalf of the people of New Hampshire?”
Ayotte made recent news when she decided to hand out condoms as a way to promote her open stance on birth control.
The Real Clear average gives Ayotte a 1.6 percent lead in the polls, earning 47 percent compared to Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan’s 45.4 percent. The latest poll published by WBUR gave Hassan a two-point lead, reversing Ayotte’s eight-point lead in September.
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