FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a leading contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, apologized this week for something he said when he criticized Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as a fake Appalachian — but the apology wasn’t directed at Vance.
Beshear picked up a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew and apologized to the makers of the soft drink during his regular news conference at the Kentucky State Capitol on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the Republican vice presidential nominee had said at a rally in Ohio that he had drunk a Diet Mountain Dew that day and fully expected to be called a “racist” for it.
Beshear called the comment “odd” in an interview with CNN, adding, “Who drinks Diet Mountain Dew?”
On Thursday he pulled back, but only a little.
“Folks, I’m a person who, if I’ve crossed the line at times, wants to make things right. So I owe Diet Mountain Dew an apology,” Beshear said.
Kentucky’s governor has been unwilling to retract his attacks on the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” who misrepresented the region and called the people who live there lazy in the book. Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, and though he has family in Kentucky, Beshear has said bluntly, “He’s not from here.”
During the press conference, Beshear held up the drink and said it was wrong to name it specifically, though he still thought more Kentucky residents would adopt Ale 8 as their soda of choice.
He also said his criticism had nothing to do with Harris considering him for the vice presidency.
“What I said about J.D. Vance is not because of rumors about me or any role he played,” Beshear said. “It’s because he exploited and tried to attack my fellow Kentuckians. And it’s my job as governor to stand up when that happens.”
“To spend a couple of summers or parts of a summer or weekends or go to special events and then claim that you know the people of Eastern Kentucky, the culture of Eastern Kentucky, and then make money off of it and then insult our people, is just not acceptable. If someone else had done that, I would have opened my mouth too.”
