WATCH: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory Just Got Interviewed on ‘Meet the Press.’ It Didn’t Go Well.

North Carolina Governor Does Not Bolster His Case

Governor Pat McCrory sat down with NBC News’ Chuck Todd Sunday morning on “Meet the Press.” It didn’t go well. 

The North Carolina Republican has been under increasing pressure for signing HB2, a wide-sweeping anti-LGBT law that bans transgender citizens from utilizing public restrooms that most closely conform to their gender identity, voids all local LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances, and strips local municipalities from passing laws to regulate minimum wages or employment discrimination. 

On Sunday, McCrory told Chuck Todd that he’s facing immense pressure from a group more powerful than the NRA: the Human Rights Campaign. Actually, to be specific, he called HRC the “Human Relations Commission,” proving just how out of touch with their work he is.

And he drew a line in the sand, stating he will not sign a repeal of the “restroom” portion of HB2 – the most contentious portion of a law his own attorney general, and many other legal experts are calling “unconstitutional.”

McCrory also admitted that even though he had been warning the City of Charlotte for months about their proposed nondiscrimination ordinance that ultimately sparked HB2, he had never met with a transgender person to discuss either bill. 

Appearing defensive, McCrory called for more “dialogue,” as he did this week in a Washington Post op-ed. But he bristled when host Chuck Todd reminded him that “you guys debated for, like, one second,” HB2 before passing it. McCrory said the Charlotte City Council’s debate was also short, but it came after a great many hours of listening to testimony from stakeholders, citizens, experts, and nearly anyone else who wished to weigh in. It also came after more than a year of study.

The Governor also claimed that laws surrounding gender identity are new.

“This is a national debate that has literally come on in the last three months,” McCrory told Todd. “No one talked about it until Houston,” referring to that city’s equal right ordinance. That’s of course false. There are reportedly more than 200 laws across the nation that include gender identity.

In perhaps the most curious moment of his “Meet the Press” interview, Gov. McCrory took a swipe at Hollywood, which has come down hard on him for HB2. He suggested they are being hypocritical about LGBT people deserving equal rights because “the new Batman-Robin movie is playing in China,” a country with gross human rights violations.

Another uncomfortable moment came when McCrory boasted that even though corporations are literally moving out of state, taking over 1000 jobs out of state, signing letters urging him to repeal HB2, and entertainers like Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, and Cirque du Soleil are boycotting North Carolina, a few folks at a local “an African American buffet restaurant” recently thanked him.

Watch:

 

EARLIER:

Over 160 CEOs and Business Leaders to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory: Repeal Anti-LGBT Law HB2

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