FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, one of the leading contenders to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, apologized this week for something he said in lambasting Ohio Sen. JD Vance as inauthentically Appalachian — but the apology wasn't to Vance.
Beshear, at his regularly scheduled news conference at the Kentucky State Capitol on Thursday, pulled out a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew and apologized to the makers of the soft drink. Earlier in the week, the Republican vice-presidential nominee had said at a rally in Ohio that he’d had a Diet Mountain Dew that day and fully expected to be called a “racist” because of it.
Beshear, in a CNN interview, called the comment “weird" and added: “Who drinks Diet Mountain Dew?”
On Thursday he retreated — but only a little bit.
“Folks, I’ve been a person that when sometimes I’ve gone over the line, I’ve wanted to make sure that I set the record straight, so, I do owe an apology to Diet Mountain Dew,” Beshear said.
The Kentucky governor wasn’t ready to retreat from his attacks on the “Hillbilly Elegy” author for what he said was misrepresenting the region and calling people who live there lazy in the book. Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, and while he has family in Kentucky, Beshear has said bluntly: “He ain’t from here.”
At the news conference, Beshear held up the drink and said he was wrong to single it out, though he still thought more Kentuckians were likely to turn to Ale 8 as their soft drink of choice.
He also said his criticism had nothing to do with being considered by Harris for vice president.
“What I said about JD Vance isn’t because of anything that is rumored about me or any role he’s stepped into,” Beshear said. “It’s because he has exploited and attempted to attack my fellow Kentuckians. And it’s my job as governor to stand up when that happens.
“To spend some summers or parts of summers or weekends or come into special events and then to claim that you know the people of eastern Kentucky, the culture of eastern Kentucky, to make money off of that claim and then to call our people names, is just not acceptable. If anybody else had done it, I’d be speaking up, too."
In this image taken from video provided by the Office of Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear apologizing to the makers of Diet Mountain Dew for comments that he made, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Frankfort, Ky. (Office of Gov. Andy Beshear via AP)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during an interview at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
CHICAGO (AP) — Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes combined on a four-hitter, and the New York Yankees clinched their 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Saturday.
Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first big league game since May 26. Cortes (9-10) closed it out in his first relief appearance since 2021.
Coupled with Baltimore's 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay, New York moved back into first in the AL East. The Yankees (82-60) lead the Orioles by a half-game.
Cortes admitted he was upset when he learned he was going to pitch in relief.
“I’m never going to back down from a challenge,” Cortes said. “I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry. You’re always going to get my best effort no matter if I’m happy or not. That’s what I did today. I came out there and proved I can be put in any situation. From here on out, if that’s my role, I’ll accept it.”
Schmidt had been sidelined by a right lat strain. He threw 75 pitches, 44 for strikes.
"I felt like I still had a lot of strength and I wasn’t fatiguing at all,” Schmidt said.
New York posted its second straight shutout to secure its first series win since it took two of three against Colorado from Aug. 23-25. The 32 straight seasons with a winning record is the second-longest such period in major league history, trailing a run of 39 consecutive seasons for the Yankees from 1926-64.
Chicago (72-70) has lost four of five on a crucial homestand as it tries to rally in the race for the third NL wild card. It beat Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday, but it has managed a total of three other runs in its last five games, getting shut out three times.
“We feel like we have a good enough ballclub to be in the playoffs and in the picture, but we’re going to have to play a little bit better and keep pushing here,” left fielder Ian Happ said.
Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (7-5) allowed one earned run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
New York scored its first run when Austin Wells drove in Gleyber Torres with a groundout in the first. The Yankees made it 2-0 in the sixth when Aaron Judge swiped third as part of a double steal and scampered home on catcher Christian Bethancourt’s throwing error.
Judge, who leads the majors with 51 homers, went 0 for 3 with a walk. He hasn’t homered in 11 games in his longest streak of the season.
The Cubs had their best scoring opportunity in the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled with one out, but was caught stealing. Patrick Wisdom then tripled to right, but he was stranded when Cortes got Bethancourt to foul out.
“He handled it really well, came into a high-leverage situation with a runner on third and got the job done,” Wells said of Cortes. “From there, cruised.”
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo heard more cheers in his second game back at Wrigley Field since he was traded by Chicago to New York in July 2021. He tipped his cap before his first at-bat and reached second on Crow-Armstrong’s dropped catch in center.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: Schmidt and RHP Ian Hamilton (right lat strain) were reinstated from the 60-day injured list before the game. RHPs Phil Bickford and Nick Burdi were designated for assignment.
Cubs: LHP Justin Steele (left elbow tendinitis) was scheduled to play catch Saturday. He went on the 15-day IL on Wednesday. ... RHP Hayden Wesneski (right forearm strain) threw an inning at Triple-A Iowa.
UP NEXT
RHP Gerrit Cole (6-3, 3.65 ERA) is slated to start for New York on Sunday on his 34th birthday. RHP Jameson Taillon (9-8, 3.66 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago in the finale of the weekend set. Taillon went 22-11 with a 4.08 ERA with the Yankees in 2021 and 2022.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt reacts in the dugout after being pulled during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton, right, celebrates with teammate Gleyber Torres (25) after Torres scored on an Austin Wells ground out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago Cubs starter Javier Assad delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring on a throwing error by the catcher during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
New York Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
