RALEIGH — North Carolina Governor issued a clarifying statement Tuesday regarding remarks made at a Monday fundraiser that aides described as “accurate but contextually incomplete,” a characterization that itself prompted requests for clarification by Wednesday morning.
The Governor’s Monday remarks, delivered at a private event in Cary, suggested that the state’s economic development strategy was “working exactly as intended,” a phrase his office spent Tuesday morning contextualizing in a 600-word statement that introduced the phrase “working within a framework of realistic expectations,” which three reporters immediately asked to have explained.
A press conference was called for Tuesday afternoon to address the Monday remarks. At the press conference, the Governor introduced the phrase “intentional flexibility,” which his communications director described afterward as “self-explanatory” in a statement that will itself be the subject of a Wednesday briefing.
“The Governor was clear,” said communications director Beth Alderman in a Tuesday evening statement. “The remarks were clear. The clarification was clear. Any confusion about the clarification reflects a misunderstanding of what was being clarified.”
Alderman’s statement contained one sentence that three editors at this publication read four times without reaching consensus on its meaning. We have chosen not to quote it directly.
The Governor’s office has scheduled a Wednesday press conference to “provide additional context” for Tuesday’s clarification. A spokesperson confirmed that the Wednesday conference may itself generate remarks that will require follow-up, and that the Governor’s team has blocked Thursday “as a precaution.”
The Governor was unavailable for comment. His office said he was reviewing his comments.