Indiana Democratic candidate Jaime West revealed Monday that she had drunk three beers before a televised candidate forum on October 9 that has gained widespread attention.
In the interview with Connersville TV3, which has been likened to a skit from Saturday Night Live online, West promised to "fire all Republicans" from the county government if elected.
"What do you want me to say? I don't like being around them," West, the Democratic candidate for Fayette County Council District 4, said.
"I mean, y’all did this to us. Y’all voted for this. You made this happen, this ICE coming into our communities, stealing people’s jobs," she fumed in the interview.
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She later clarified that there are "good Republicans out there, then there’s MAGA," adding that, "[They are] just racist and aren't very intelligent at all. They call you names," while claiming that she had been repeatedly threatened by MAGA supporters.
When asked for her final words to voters, West stared at the camera and said, "We have guns, too," in a moment that has since been widely reshared across social media, with clips attracting millions of views.
Newsweek reached out to Jaime West via email for comment.
West Says She Drank Three Beers Before Interview
Questions about West's behavior during the interview were repeatedly raised by internet users and political commentators, with some suggesting she may have been intoxicated.
On Piers Morgan Uncensored on Monday, West was asked by host Morgan if she was drunk during the interview earlier in the month.
West had previously told the Connersville News-Examiner that she drank one beer before the forum. On Monday, after Morgan repeatedly pressed her on the amount, she said she had consumed three.
"I’m gonna be completely straight with you, a lot of people assumed you had a drink before that interview. Did you?" Morgan asked the Democratic hopeful.
"I had a Coors Light. I had a beer. Maybe a couple," West said, before later admitting, "I had three beers, OK?"
Despite this admission and offering the explanation that she was "nervous," West denied suggestions that she was too intoxicated to give the original interview.
"So do you accept you may have been a little intoxicated?" Morgan asked, and West replied: "Not that intoxicated. I do know what I’m talking about and that’s Indiana politics."
Morgan asked West about what he called "very inflammatory" comments about Republicans, asking if she had any regrets about what she said in the interview.
"No. I say it all the time," West said. "I’m not friends with them. I don’t like them. They voted for all of this that’s happening to our country."
West is running against Republican Gary R. Keener Jr. for the Fayette County Council District 4 seat in the November 3 general election.
Later in the interview, Morgan asked West: "If you became a politician, would you carry on drinking beer, or would you give it up, do you think?"
She replied, "I don't know, why don't you ask Pete Hegseth, who is drinking whiskey as he's running an illegal war? Why don't you ask him that?"
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Tony Phillips.