Following his one-on-one summit Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, President Donald J. Trump provoked bipartisan scorn for seemingly placing more trust with the former KGB agent than his own foreign intelligence experts over the issue of Russian interference in U.S. elections.
But how much will those condemnations influence political races here in Connecticut?
So far, Republicans vying to be the state's next governor haven't exactly distanced themselves from the president. At a debate last Thursday at Mohegan Sun, all five GOP candidates gave Trump an "A" when asked to grade his performance. And one of them, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, took a page out of Trump's playbook by calling the Hartford Courant "fake news." The remark, Boughton later said, was made "in jest."
This week we dissect that debate, as well as one that happened the same night in New Haven between Democratic gubernatorial contenders Joe Ganim and Ned Lamont, and another governor candidate forum on climate change held this Monday.
Also, we sort through newly updated fundraising reports in the races for governor and the state's Fifth Congressional District seat. Where are the candidates getting their campaign cash, and who's lagging behind the pack just weeks before the August 14 primaries.
GUESTS:
- Bilal Sekou - Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hartford
- Susan Bigelow - Contributor - CTNewsJunkie.com (@whateversusan)
- Max Reiss - Political Reporter for NBC Connecticut (@MaxReiss)
