Rick Scott Ducks on Trump’s Women Comments and Rhetoric Against Protesters

COSTELLO: “You know that the polls show on the Republican side that Donald Trump is probably going to win Florida. He leads in most polls out there. And, of course, the anti-Trump people are really pushing back. In fact, they released an anti-Trump super PAC ad that’s running on television today and I’d like you to listen to it.” 
[clip starts]
UNKNOWN FEMALE: “You know it really doesn’t matter what they write, as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of *ss.”
UNKNOWN FEMALE: “That must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees.” 
UNKNOWN FEMALE: “There was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her — wherever.” 
UNKNOWN FEMALE: “Women, you have to treat them like **it.”
[clip ends]
COSTELLO: “So it’s a series of women kind of saying things that Trump said about women in the past. Do you think the ad is effective?” 
SCOTT: “I haven’t seen — Carol, I haven’t seen that ad. I know that when I ran in 2010, I still think the issue is going to come down to who people believe is going to help people get to work. That’s the biggest issue. I — I grew up in a family — I lived in public housing growing up. I grew up in a family that struggled for work.”
COSTELLO: “So — so — no, no, I get it.”
SCOTT: “That’s the biggest issue.” 
COSTELLO: “But you’re saying that — you’re saying that the voters in Florida and in much of the country don’t much care what Donald Trump says about women, they care more about their paychecks?” 
SCOTT: “Oh, I think it’s important, you know, how — what you say about everybody. You know, when I ran, I tried to make sure I got every vote. I traveled the entire state.” 
COSTELLO: “So if it’s — if — I understand.”
SCOTT: “Go ahead, Carol, I’m sorry.”
COSTELLO: “If it’s important — if it’s important what candidates say, do you think that this — do you think this would hurt Donald Trump? Or do you think it’s a waste of time?” 
SCOTT: “Carol, I haven’t — I haven’t seen that ad. I just still think, if you listen to — if — listen to people. I — I’d probably shake hands with 200 to 500 people a day. It’s jobs.” 
COSTELLO: “I’m sure you have heard some of the things that Donald Trump said about women. I’m sure you’ve heard some of the — why don’t you want to say anything about Donald Trump at all? I don’t get it.”
SCOTT: “Well, I believe all the candidates ought to be respectful of everybody. I think they ought to talk about the issues that people care about. In our state it’s jobs, education, keep people safe. That’s what I would do if I was running. That’s what I did when I ran in 2010 and 2014. But I’m not — you know, I don’t know why the candidates do what they do.” 
COSTELLO: “OK, so if you think — if you think that it’s a politician’s responsibility to keep everyone safe, then I’m going to ask you about the violence at Trump rallies. Do you think that’s Trump’s fault? Do you think he’s been responsible with his rhetoric?”
SCOTT: “I had protesters in my — some of my events both in 2010 and 2014. Everybody handles protesters differently. I was not at those events, so I couldn’t tell you exactly how I would have done it.”
COSTELLO: “I’m sure you’ve seen those events on television unless you’ve been living in a cave, governor?” 
SCOTT: “The approach that I take when people have protested me, I listen to them and I let them have their time. Everybody does it differently though. Everybody — everybody handles protesters differently.”
COSTELLO: “Is Donald Trump doing it correctly?” 
SCOTT: “But it’s part of what’s going on. Well, that’s how Donald Trump handles it. And he can respond to how he handles it. I know how I handle it in my — when I — when I’m at a rally —“
COSTELLO: “Is it right or wrong?” 
SCOTT: “Well, he’s got to decide — you’ve got to — you know, he’s going to decide that and what’s right for him. Every candidate’s a little bit different.” 
COSTELLO: “Gotcha. OK, Governor Rick Scott, thank you so much for joining me this morning.”
SCOTT: “Have a good day, Carol.”