Paul, angered by question, cuts off CNN interview

{mosads}The Times reported that Bash later apologized to Paul’s wife, while Slate is reporting that Benton stormed out of the event “complaining about how annoyed the campaign was with the network.”

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Benton denounced a “mob-like atmosphere” at the restaurant.

“This morning, he attempted to hold an event at Moe Joe’s Diner in Manchester, to speak with patrons and supporters in the last push before the New Hampshire primary. Unfortunately, Dr. Paul and his family were forced to leave early after over 120 members of the press created a mob-like atmosphere that was deemed to be unsafe for the candidate, Moe Joe’s customers, and reporters themselves,” Benton said.
 
“The campaign had planned to cover our normal degree of media interest, which is always ample. However, a significant increase in the press corps, largely driven by an influx of foreign journalists, exceeded all expectations.”

He went on to describe an incident in which a reporter shoved aside Paul’s wife, allegedly telling her to “get out of the way.”
 
“While we are very welcoming of media coverage and grateful for the interest in Dr. Paul and his campaign, basic safety simply must come first. On behalf of Dr. Paul and his campaign team, I would like to apologize to customers at Moe Joe’s who may have been distressed by this incident, and extend our gratitude and apologies to the owners, who were kind enough to have us,” Benton said.

In December, Paul appeared to walk out of an interview with political analyst Gloria Borger when pressed about his involvement with newsletters published under his name that carried racist and inflammatory content.

“It’s been going on 20 years that I’ve been pestered about this and CNN does it every time,” Paul said, clearly upset by the line of questioning. “When are you going to wear yourself out?”

This post was updated at 3:45 p.m. to include Jesse Benton’s statement.