October 19, 2016 11:31 AM UTC

Mike Coffman Hammered By 9NEWS Over Birther History, Trump

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• by: Colorado Pols

Yesterday, 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark aired an in-depth interview with incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora on a range of topics–chief among them being the upcoming election, in which Coffman has tried everything imaginable to escape the toxic cloud enveloping the Republican Party as Donald Trump leads them to increasingly likely ruin. You might think you know where this is headed, but you won’t believe how bad it gets for Coffman.

As 9NEWS reports, Rep. Coffman took another step toward abdicating political responsibility for the 2016 elections he is running for re-election in, declaring that he may not cast any vote for President at all:

In another sign of just how unusual 2016 is, Republican Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado says he may skip voting in this year’s presidential race.

“I don’t know if I’ll cast a vote for president,” Coffman told 9NEWS in an interview Tuesday. “I’m not going to vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I’m struggling with it like many other Americans.”

…Coffman said he didn’t know whether he might vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson, but agreed that Johnson has said “dumb things” on foreign policy.

Speaking of saying dumb things, the interview turned to a subject we’ve been waiting for someone to broach with Coffman ever since he began distancing himself from Donald Trump! And it’s fitting, since Clark is the reporter who so famously cornered Mike Coffman over this issue four years ago:

Clark asked Coffman if he bore responsibility for Trump’s rise, given Coffman’s past suggestion that he wasn’t sure President Barack Obama was born in the United States. [Pols emphasis]

Here’s the full transcript of this positively epic exchange:

CLARK: I have one more question that involves Donald Trump, but it’s actually a question about you. Donald Trump started promoting the birther lie in 2011, and then in was 2012 when you said that you didn’t know if President Obama was born in the United States but he wasn’t an American at heart. You told me that you misspoke and you apologized, said it several times. [Pols emphasis] My question is, did you and other elected Republicans who kind of flirted with this birther nonsense, help put Donald Trump on the map?

COFFMAN: No.

CLARK: No responsibility at all?

COFFMAN: No.

CLARK: Why do you say that?

COFFMAN: Well, first of all, I, first of all it was wrong, it was boneheaded, I said it was, thought it was a private conversation I was having, it was being, it was taped…

CLARK: You were speaking on stage with a microphone. [Pols emphasis]

COFFMAN: That’s no excuse, that’s no excuse, that’s no excuse, it was to a private group, it was not a public event, but that’s no excuse. I said I was wrong. Uh, and so, uh, I’ve never taken that position publicly. It was a mistake, I didn’t say that he wasn’t born in the United–I said I didn’t know, but that wasn’t the issue, there was another issue and that was inflammatory. So, absolutely not.

CLARK: So you didn’t give any cover to the TV personality Donald Trump who was saying this because you were Mike Coffman, elected representative…

COFFMAN: No.

CLARK: You don’t see any tie between those, and…

COFFMAN: No.

CLARK: Okay.

Safe to say, this is a minute and a half of video that Coffman hopes undecided voters in CD-6 never see. Coffman’s excuses that he didn’t know his on-stage remarks at an Elbert County GOP fundraiser were being recorded, then trying to make a distinction between “not knowing” if Barack Obama was born in the United States and “knowing” he wasn’t like other birthers, are absolutely painful to watch. We’re honestly surprised that in the intervening four years, Coffman has never developed a better response–which might help explain why his campaign limits these kinds of press appearances.

We would call it protesting one’s own guilt, but Coffman didn’t even manage a decent protest.

He just looks guilty.