Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno proclaimed he'd handle "tough questions" from reporters — and it backfired on him immediately.
Moreno, a businessman and Trump loyalist, is challenging Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a high-profile seat that could be one of Democrats' toughest to defend this cycle.
“I can tell you this, if I'm here, I will talk to you at any point in time, even take tough questions," Moreno said, while standing outside Brown's office. "Sherrod Brown won't do that.”
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But then, according to NBC News' Frank Thorp, Moreno was instantly asked whether his stance on abortion rights matches the newly updated position in the GOP platform, to which he responded, “We’re not here to talk about abortion.”
The GOP has made halfhearted efforts to distance itself from the absolutist abortion bans passed in many deep red states following the death of Roe v. Wade at the hands of Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump, putting in their platform that the matter should be left to states — still a dramatically anti-abortion position, but distinct from the idea of imposing federal bans. The move caused some discord among Republican activists.
Despite having voted decisively for Trump on two occasions, Ohio has a strong undercurrent of pro-choice support among voters, with the state's near-total abortion ban being rebuked by a state constitutional amendment voted on last year to restore abortion rights.
Moreno has already invited controversy in the past, with recent reporting revealing that he illegally smuggled a luxury car worth $2.3 million into the United States, flouting Clean Air Act standards, in a state where the domestic automotive industry is integral to the economy. “Nobody’s here from the EPA, right? Good,” Moreno joked privately with associates at the time. “The car’s actually not legally allowed to be in the United States."
