CNN anchor Jake Tapper was revolted that Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) referenced what he called a “gross smear” of Trump VP pick Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) involving the sexual violation of a couch, asking “what ever happened” to going high when they go low?
An X/Twitter user kicked off a social media furor with the false claim that Vance’s book contained a confession that he once had sexual congress with a couch.
There is no such passage in Vance’s book, but the viral tweet sparked a surreal fact-check from The Associated Press that has since been deleted and another by Snopes that you can still read. The theme has been taken up to mock Vance by Trump opponents.
Walz made a very thinly-veiled reference to the gag at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, saying “I gotta tell ya, I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up. You see what I did there?”
On Wednesday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper expressed disgust with Walz’s joke, and asked his panel “What ever happened to Michelle Obama’s when they go low, we go higher?”:
TAPPER: So let me ask you a question because there’s this — I’m hesitant to even bring it up, but this is gross online smear about J.D. Vance involving couches, OK, and the only reason I cite it is because Governor Walz made a reference to it during his introduction speech yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALZ: And I got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up. So —
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: A clear reference to this gross smear. So I mean, whatever happened to Michelle Obamas when they go low, we go higher?
SINGLETON: I think Democrats have abandoned that a long time ago. Look, I get it. Politics is a brutal sport. This is like a boxing match and we’re trying to see if we can get the knockout first and they’re trying to do the same, and let’s see what happens in November, Jake. But I’m not surprised by it.
TAPPER: What do you think?
CROSS: I love Michelle Obama, but she’s not in this race. They’re running against Donald J. Trump who continues to go lower, deeper, more crazy. We’ve seen everything on Truth Social.
I don’t know who kambala is. I don’t know why he’s pretty attending like — like we’re going to see Joe Biden pop-up out of something at the DNC and become the nominee again.
This campaign is measured against the guy they’re running against, and the field game is extremely strong. And I think that trying to compare it to somebody who’s never going to run, who’s not going to run and something that she said to try to calm some of the aggression we saw from the right, it doesn’t make sense.
SINGLETON: So, you guys are going lower? Is that fair to ask?
CROSS: No, we’re meeting — we’re meeting the energy where it is.
TAPPER: Meet the energy where it is.
Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.
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