When we booked U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong for this episode of Plain Talk, we weren't planning on talking about Donald Trump. The plan was to get Armstrong's reactions to polls showing a prohibitive lead for him over Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the Republican gubernatorial primary. The plan was to discuss the debate the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce just hosted between him and Miller.
But then a New York jury convicted Trump on 34 criminal counts, and we were obliged to talk to Armstrong about it. All the more so because, just hours before the jury handed down that verdict, Trump had endorsed Armstrong in the primary.
It was a respectful but heated conversation -- neither I nor my co-host Chad Oban are Trump fans -- but I'm glad we had it. And one thing I appreciate about Armstrong is that you can have vigorous disagreements with him, and it's never personal.
Armstrong, a former criminal defense attorney, addressed some of the legal arguments around the case. My argument? I'm worried that the particulars of the legal arguments cause us to gloss over the grotesque behavior from Trump that's at the heart of the case. Namely, the fact that he paid off multiple porn stars to cover up extra-marital affairs, and colluded with a notorious tabloid to capture and kill negative stories about him.
We didn't just talk about Trump, though. We also covered the debate, property taxes, and child care.
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