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Brown rebuts Trump Fed pick: 'Why did you say that Cincinnati and Cleveland are the armpit of America?'

Former Trump campaign adviser Stephen Moore criticized the Midwest on a 2014 event saying that “You don’t want to live in Cincinnati or Cleveland or these armpits of America like that. You want to live in Chicago."
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks to reporters during the Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast Sunday, March 3, 2019, in Selma, Ala. Several Democratic White House hopefuls are visiting one of America's seminal civil rights sites to pay homage to that legacy and highlight their own connections to the movement. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)

TOLEDO (WTOL) - Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter addressed to one of President Donald Trump’s picks to serve on the Federal Reserve Board Tuesday questioning him on comments he made about the Midwest in 2014.

Former Trump campaign adviser Stephen Moore, who is already facing controversy for comments he made regarding women, said on an event at the Heartland Institute in Illinois that “If you want to live in the Midwest, where else do you want to live besides Chicago?”

“You don’t want to live in Cincinnati or Cleveland or these armpits of America like that. You want to live in Chicago," he continued.

You can hear Moore’s comments from minutes 45:45 to 47:08.

In his letter, Brown criticized Moore saying his views are “disqualifying for the critical role of Governor of the Federal Reserve Board" and that he dismissed “millions of Americans who work and live in small towns and cities across the industrial heartland.”

Brown is a ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, which reviews Federal Reserve nominations.

Additionally, Brown asked him “why did you say that Cincinnati and Cleveland are the armpit of America? Please provide a list of other towns in the Midwest and the rest of the country that you believe also match the description of `armpit of America.`”

Brown defended both Ohio cities saying “Cleveland is home to the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, Playhouse Square, some of the greatest health care facilities in the world, the NASA-designated Great Lakes Science Center,” and that Cincinnati “boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the Midwest, historic architecture, and Fortune 500 companies.”

The senator concluded the letter by demanding an apology and a public retraction from Moore. You can read the full letter here.

An interview request made to Stephen Moore through the Heritage Foundation Institute where he is a distinguished fellow wasn’t immediately responded on Tuesday night.

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