'They shrugged it off': Voters at Texas polls tell CNN they are 'willing to look past' Trump's KKK problems
Republican voters in Texas told CNN that they cast their ballots for Donald Trump on Tuesday because they could "look past" his recent refusal to condemn white supremacists.
During an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper over the weekend, Trump had declined three chances to disavow support from the Ku Klux Klan or former Grand Wizard David Duke. The candidate later blamed a "lousy earpiece," and told ABC News on Tuesday that "there's nobody that's done so much for equality as I have."
On Tuesday, CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera reported to Tapper that he had been speaking to voters throughout the day for the network's Super Tuesday coverage and many were not concerned about the controversy over the KKK.
"We've asked a number of them throughout the day and what we've found, Jake, is a mixed bag," Lavandera explained. "We spoke with one woman who was a Trump supporter until she heard that interview with you and changed her vote to Marco Rubio."
"We've also heard from a number of Trump supporters throughout the day, when we asked them about these comments and this controversy, many of them shrugged it off, saying it was something they were willing to look past because they felt that Donald Trump was the best candidate to change things up in Washington," he added. "And despite those comments that might have worried some of them, they said that they were willing to look past it and still vote for Donald Trump."
Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast March 1, 2016.