Connecticut GOP senatorial candidate Linda McMahon yesterday tried to slip out of a political chokehold and pin Democratic foe Richard Blumenthal, with aid from her World Wrestling Entertainment empire.
The WWE jumped into the ring to defend its ex-boss even as a Quinnipiac poll showed her trailing by 11 points.
McMahon also faces criticism over the death of seven of her wrestlers, each an alleged drug user, and the belief that wrestling events degrade women.
DISPATCHES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
The WWE, in a press release, accused critics of hypocrisy and noted that its events have been embraced by President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. John McCain.
The WWE released transcripts of the politicians who appeared on its televised programs.
Obama told WWE fans in a 2008 telecast, “Hope you are all enjoying the program . . . For the American people, I have one question: ‘Do you smell what Barack is cooking?’ ”
Then-presidential candidate Clinton said, “In honor of the WWE, you can call me Hillrod,” and McCain vowed “to introduce Osama bin Laden to the Undertaker.”
But perhaps most troubling for McMahon is that Blumenthal leads by a 2-to-1 margin among women and has a new tag-team partner — Michelle Obama, who is to stump with him Monday.