Donald Trump Jr and Fox News teamed up to absolve Trump of a landmark Kentucky defeat, despite him campaigning for the losing candidate
- Donald Trump Jr and Fox News host Laura Ingraham characterized Tuesday's defeat for the GOP in the Kentucky governor election as entirely unconnected to Donald Trump.
- They made the claims despite the president's campaigning for Matt Bevin, who looks to have lost by around 5,000 votes.
- Trump told a rally on Monday: "If you lose, they are going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world. You can't let that happen."
- On Tuesday night Trump Jr said "this has nothing to do with Trump," while Ingraham argued Trump's support saved Bevin from a worse defeat.
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Donald Trump Jr and Fox's Laura Ingraham claimed that a defeat for Republicans in the Kentucky governor's race is totally unrelated to Donald Trump, despite the president's campaigning for the candidate.
Democratic Party challenger Andy Beshear look set to defeat incumbent Matt Bevin by around 5,000 votes in Tuesday's vote, according to reports from The Associated Press.
Beshear declared victory, while Bevin has refused to concede at time of writing.
Trump held a rally in Lexington on Monday night where he implored attendees to vote for Bevin because "if you lose, they are going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world."
"You can't let that happen," Trump told the crowd at his "Keep America Great" event.
On Tuesday night the president's son, slamming coverage by CNN, told Ingraham it was wrong to say that Bevin suffered because of Trump.
"This has nothing to do with Trump. They swept the rest of the ticket, did great in Mississippi," he said, referring to gains made by Democratic Party candidate Jim Hood in Tuesday's gubernatorial election.
Trump Jr then blamed Bevin for the loss.
"I like Matt Bevin, he's been a friend of mine, he's a good guy, but he has picked a lot of battles and he's teed off on a lot of people in Kentucky, that's not always popular, we understand how that works."
Ingraham too sought to distance Trump from.
As she introduced Trump Jr she remarked Bevin was "the most unpopular governor in the country," likely referring to an April 2019 poll conducted by Morning Consult.
Ingraham then went on to say that Trump's endorsement of Bevin saved the candidate from worse embarrassment.
"If Trump hadn't come into town, I can tell you what would have happened. This race would probably have been a ten-point race for the Democrats," she said.
Trump tweeted late on Tuesday night that the "Fake News will blame Trump!" for Bevin's defeat.
In the run up to the election Bevin's controversial plan to reform the Kentucky's public pension systems had been met with huge opposition.
Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale told The Hill that Trump "just about dragged Gov. Matt Bevin across the finish line."
Trump defended himself on Twitter on Tuesday, citing victories in five other Kentucky elections held on Tuesday, like that for the attorney general's office.