STEPHANIE RUHLE (CO-HOST): OK, so if Roy Moore doesn't remember, how could he say that it's definitively false? And, number two, why would he need permission from any of these girls' mothers if they weren't underage?
TRENTON GARMON: Sure, that's a good question. And culturally speaking, obviously there's differences. I looked up Ali's background there, and wow that's awesome that you have got such a diverse background, it's really cool to read through that. But the point is this --
RUHLE: What does Ali's background have to do with dating a 14-year old?
GARMON: I'm not finished with the context of it. Point of it is this --
RUHLE: Please answer. What does Ali Velshi's background have to do with dating children, 14-year-old girls?
GARMON: Sure. In other countries, there's arrangement through parents for what we would refer to as consensual marriage. So,--
RUHLE: Ali is from Canada. Ali's from Canada.
GARMON: I understand that. And Ali's also spent time in other countries, of which I've gone to. So, it's not a bad thing.
RUHLE: So have I.
ALI VELSHI (CO-HOST): I don't know where you're going with this Trenton.
GARMON: So the point is this, Stephanie. So, here's to answer your question. So, he said “no,” comma. So, he answered no. And then he went on to say his process would be before he'd date anybody, whether they were 25, 35, or whether he doesn't know their age, he would ask the mother's permission. So, he actually answered no. There's no inconsistency in that. And, I stand by the answer. To me it's the most appropriate proper answer.
[...]
VELSHI: We don't know what here goes to court. These allegations are old. They are in many cases beyond the statute of limitations. And there's an election in 27 days. So there's two separate things happening here. And if the argument is “because this can't be heard by a court of law in the next 27 days, nothing should be done about it,” that's going to be problematic to a lot of people, including the families of the accusers.
RUHLE: Yeah, unfortunately I can't hear anything that you are saying. Do you know why?
VELSHI: Why?
RUHLE: Because what in the world were we talking about about other countries, and what countries you are from or where you visited?
VELSHI: Yeah, there's nothing cultural about my background that helped me to understand what that conversation was all about.
RUHLE: Is it that you were born in Kenya, a country that I also lived in?
VELSHI: I'm guessing that's where that was going
