Will Vermont's two Republican gubernatorial hopefuls support Donald Trump if he wins their party's presidential nomination?
One candidate says there's no way he'll ever support Trump, and the other says it's too early in the political process to answer the question.
For the past few months, Lt. Governor Phil Scott has expressed strong concerns about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Scott says he's upset that Trump has made disrespectful comments about women, people with disabilities, immigrants and Muslims.
For these reasons, Scott says he won't support Trump if the New York businessman wins the GOP nomination.
"I'm really looking for a leader that will pull people together and unite us rather than divide us and I think that he does just the opposite,” Scott says. “He incites that fear and anger in people and he's good at it. He pushes all the right buttons, but I don't think that's good for the country."
Scott says Trump doesn't have the right temperament to be President of the United States.
"Somebody that is acting like a child, somebody that isn't in control of their emotions, in that respect I don't think deserves to be president,” Scott says.
"This is something that I truly believe is too important to play politics with." - Lt. Gov Phil Scott
Scott acknowledges that some of his own supporters disagree with his position on Trump.
“This is something that I truly believe is too important to play politics with,” Scott says in response. “Sometimes you have to put principle above politics, and I think this is one of those times when we have to do what's right.”
Meanwhile, businessman Bruce Lisman downplays the importance of this issue. Lisman says it's never come up on the campaign trail and he thinks it's premature to even answer the question until the Republican convention in mid-July.
"We'll find out who the candidate is, and I will tell you then. I promise you,” Lisman says. “But until then, the issues that I think concern me the most are things that are right here, right in front of us."
"We'll find out who the candidate is, and I will tell you then. I promise you." - Bruce Lisman
Lisman says Scott should take a stand on more important issues.
"It's good that Phil has a point of view about that,” Lisman says. “Of course, I think he ought to have a point of view about issues that involve Vermonters directly – that's worthy of a point of view."
The two candidates do agree on one thing: Both say they support the candidacy of Ohio Gov. John Kasich to win the GOP presidential nomination.
