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SALT LAKE CITY — A CNN anchor shut down Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans when he claimed during a live television interview Thursday that Bill Clinton has an illegitimate son.
"No, no, no. Come on. Oh, please, no. That's just rubbish," host Carol Costello responded. "He does not have an illegitimate son. You have no proof of that."
"How do you know this? Have him on the air," Evans replies before Costello puts her hand up and abruptly cuts to a break as Evans continued to talk.
Evans and Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon appeared on CNN to talk about reliably Republican Utah being in play for a Democrat in the presidential election.
Many Utah GOP leaders and rank-and-file Republicans abandoned Donald Trump after vulgar remarks he made about women surfaced in a video last weekend, opening the door for Democrat Hillary Clinton and independent Evan McMullin to win the state.
The exchange between Evans and Costello began after the Utah GOP chairman said he looks forward to the day she interviews Bill Clinton's illegitimate son and asks Hillary Clinton if she's willing to accept him. Evans led into the comment talking about how Utah and the Republican Party represent family values.
Evans didn't back away from the allegation in later interviews, saying the story about the now 30-year-old man has been out for a long time and is nothing new.
Decades-old rumors that Bill Clinton once fathered a child with a prostitute that, according to some news organizations were debunked in 1999, re-emerged recently on the internet.
Evans said he brought it up because he's frustrated that there's a double standard over how the media treats allegations against Trump and the Clintons. Republicans get "robust" media attention based on accusations, while evidence has to be gathered before anything is reported about Democrats, he said.
It was just one of those times where I'd had enough. … Perhaps it's something that should not have been said.
–James Evans, Utah GOP chairman
"Is that the best thing to say with respect to representing Utah? I would have to say no, it's not," Evans said. "It was just one of those times where I'd had enough. … Perhaps it's something that should not have been said."
Still, he said it was fair game because Hillary Clinton acts like she's a champion for women and children, yet has a history of protecting her husband "who has the reputation of being a sexual predator."
Corroon said Evans sees the Trump boat sinking in Utah and he's grabbing at whatever he can find in the "basement of the internet dungeon."
"I thought it was a little bit strange, to say the least, hearing James Evans all of a sudden talking about some love child of Bill Clinton's when were talking about whether the state of Utah was going to vote for Trump or Clinton," he said.
Corroon said Costello was right to end the interview at that point because bringing up conspiracy theories looks like a desperate attempt to help Trump. The media, he said, has scrutinized the Clintons as much as any candidates running for president.
"This whole thing that the media is treating Donald Trump unfairly is nonsense," Corroon said. "He's getting what he deserves because it's coming out of his own mouth."
The left-leaning Alliance for a Better Utah called for the Utah Republican Party to demand that Evans resign, saying the state expects more of its political leaders.
Evans' continued support for Trump and his "outlandish" comments on CNN is "morally bankrupting the Utah GOP," said Better Utah executive director Rachel Sanders.
A Y2 Analytics poll Tuesday showed Trump and Clinton in a dead heat in Utah, with McMullin closing in. Trump once had a double-digit lead over Clinton in the state.
But a Monmouth University poll released Thursday shows Trump leading Clinton 34 percent to 28 percent, with McMullin pulling 20 percent of likely Utah voters.
"While this race is close, it is unclear whether Clinton or McMullin has the better opportunity to upset Trump," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Murray noted that the survey of 403 Utahns conducted Oct. 10-12 was nearly done before news of sexual assault allegations against Trump received wide coverage Wednesday. The New York Times reported Wednesday that two women say Trump touched them inappropriately years ago.
"It is likely that some Republican voters are looking for cues from their state's party leadership, who have pretty much abandoned Trump en masse," he said.
Many GOP leaders in the state, including Gov. Gary Herbert, said they could no longer vote for Trump. Others, including Evans, say they're confident Trump will still win the state.
Murray said Utah's large number of Republican voters could never support the Democrat but are having a hard time coming to terms with their own nominee.
"This may provide an opening for McMullin, especially if the national picture continues to point toward a Clinton victory and they become less worried about 'wasting' their vote," he said.
Contributing: Ladd Egan
