WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Indiana Democratic candidate Jaime West admitted drinking three beers before a viral televised forum on Oct. 9.
  • West initially acknowledged one Coors Light, then “a couple,” before finally confirming that she consumed three beers.
  • She insisted she “wasn’t that intoxicated” and still understood Indiana politics during the interview.
  • West refused to retract her comments about Republicans and said she was sober while speaking with Piers Morgan.

Indiana Democratic candidate Jaime West admitted Monday that she drank three beers before slurring through a viral interview in which she pledged to fire all Republicans. The confession arrived only after repeated questioning about her disastrous appearance.

West, a county council hopeful in Fayetteville, addressed the episode during an appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.” She maintained that she “wasn’t that intoxicated” during the local televised forum on Oct. 9.

The interview had already drawn attention for West’s rambling monologue and her delivery. Host Piers Morgan confronted her with the obvious question after telling her that many viewers assumed she was drunk during the forum.

West did not immediately disclose the full number of drinks. Instead, she initially conceded that she had consumed “a Coors Light” before appearing at the televised event.

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Morgan was not satisfied with that carefully limited answer. He pressed West on whether she had really consumed only one beer before an interview that could only be described as a dumpster fire.

That follow-up produced another small step toward the full story. West then acknowledged that she had consumed “a couple,” moving beyond her original admission of one Coors Light.

West attempted to explain the drinking by pointing to her nerves before entering the forum. “I was nervous! I was going into a room full of Republicans,” she said.

Morgan continued pressing rather than letting the shifting answers slide. He offered West a “chance to be completely honest and transparent” and asked her to state definitively how many drinks she had consumed.

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The complete answer finally emerged after the progression from one beer to a couple. West began her admission by saying, “Alright, three. Three beers.”

She then added, “What do you want me to say, man? I had three beers,” bringing the count to the figure Morgan had been seeking throughout the exchange.

Even after acknowledging the three beers, West disputed the suggestion that she had been seriously impaired. She again insisted that she “wasn’t that intoxicated” during the televised forum.

West also maintained that she still “knew what I’m talking about when it comes to Indiana politics.” Her defense rested on the claim that the alcohol had not prevented her from understanding the political subject matter she discussed.

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During her conversation with Morgan, West said she was sober. Morgan then gave her an opportunity to withdraw or revise anything she had said during the viral interview.

West refused to renege on her remarks. That included her hostility toward Republicans and the statements that helped turn the original forum appearance into a widely circulated political spectacle.

“I say it all the time – I’m not friends with [Republicans].” West told Morgan, leaving little uncertainty about whether her earlier comments reflected her actual position.

She continued, “I don’t like them. They voted for all of this that’s happening to our country,” directly blaming Republican voters for what she described as the country’s current problems.

The exchange left West standing by the substance of her comments while minimizing the effect of the three beers she consumed beforehand. Her answers about the drinking, however, moved from one beer to a couple and finally to three.

Morgan’s questioning established the final number only after several rounds of increasingly specific inquiries. West’s ultimate position was that she had consumed three beers, was not as intoxicated as viewers believed and had nothing to retract from the viral interview.

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