Rep. Duffy criticizes Trump’s affairs, but defends president
WAUSAU – He criticized Donald Trump’s relationships with women and called Trump’s former campaign chairman a “sleazy guy,” but U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy continues to appear unwavering in his support for the president.
Duffy appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Route 51” program Thursday to discuss his campaign and an array of issues. The Wausau Republican is seeking his fourth term as a representative for the 7th Congressional District and will face Democrat Margaret Engebretson in the Nov. 6 general election. Also appearing on the November ballot will be Ken Driessen of Hayward, a candidate for direct participatory democracy.
The district is largely perceived as safely Republican, including by the The Cook Political Report. Duffy also is vastly outspending his Democratic opponent. Still, some parts of the 7th have seen shifts to the left in recent elections.
During the interview on WPR, Duffy contended that the felony convictions this week against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort have nothing to do with the president. Still, he was quick to criticize Manafort’s actions that resulted in a financial fraud indictment.
“Those who try to avoid paying taxes, I find that to be — as you’re violating the law — antiAmerican,” he said.
Duffy also discussed Michael Cohen, a personal attorney for Trump who pleaded guilty to eight felonies this week, including two charges stemming from hush payments made to an actress and a former Playboy playmate ahead of the 2016 election. Justice Department officials contended the payments were designed to influence the election and violated campaign finance laws.
Trump said Wednesday that the payments weren’t illegal because they came out of his own pocket.
Duffy emphasized that he supports the president for his policies and ideas but disagrees with his treatment of women, recalling statements Trump made on “Access Hollywood” in 2005. That’s not the way Duffy himself talks about women, the congressman said.
“This relationship with a porn star — I mean, come on,” Duffy said. “That’s not who we are.”
Whether the payments are illegal remains up for debate, Duffy said, saying they could’ve been made to prevent Trump’s wife from discovering the affair. But Duffy did seem to acknowledge that there was a reason for making the payments before the election.
“I think these folks were going to leverage that and expose it right before the election,” he said.
Duffy has been an ardent supporter of Trump throughout his presidency, although he initially supported Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican contest. A recent Facebook ad for Duffy’s campaign boasts that he’s the only candidate who will support Trump and applauded the president for getting the economy “on track.”
“I’m proud to stand with him,” the ad states.
On “Route 51,” Duffy said Cohen is one of several lawyers who has worked with Trump. Many of them are “honorable” people, he said, but such a large operation is bound to have some “bad folks.” He also attributed then-candidate Trump’s hiring of Manafort to the fact that many people opted to work with other Republican candidates.
“There’s not a lot of people who, one, thought President Trump, then-candidate Trump, could win the primaries,” Duffy said.