Local

Bill Bryant offers new explanation on Trump at debate

SPOKANE, Wash. — Both sides are claiming victory after the first debate between the candidates for governor.

Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican challenger Bill Bryant clashed on policy.

But incumbent Inslee also hammered his opponent for taking months to reject fellow Republican, Donald Trump.  After months of ducking the question, Bryant said Monday that he will not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton.

“What did you see in Donald Trump for 242 days, where you wouldn’t say a peep to stand up against this gross cruelty?” said Inslee, referring to Trump’s policies on Muslims and his attack on the family of a soldier killed in Iraq. “I want to know why you didn’t do that,” demanded Inslee.

Bryant answered with a new explanation that goes to his roots in Washington state.

“Remember I talked about how so many people in Washington feel forgotten and left behind, these are folks that I grew up with, these are people I went to high school with,” Bryant said.  “And they think that government doesn’t care and doesn’t listen to them and many of those people think that Donald Trump is going to help solve their problems, I don’t but they do. And I was afraid that I came out against Mr. Trump, and in January I said he was unfit to be president, but if I continued to come out against Mr. Trump those people were going to think that I had abandoned them, too. And that was heartbreaking for me,” Bryant said.

We’re working to confirm Bryant’s claim that he called Trump unfit for the presidency in January.

Inslee was asked by Bryant to describe the governor's greatest failure.

Inslee responded that it was accepting a donation from Bryant many years ago. More seriously, the governor also said he regrets the growth in homelessness under his watch.