There's a pause, and it's hard to tell if it's a matter of hesitation or of gathering thoughts to share properly. It's a pause, though, and when he speaks, it's careful.

"There's a conflict among local public figures. Native local public figures. I'm not going to try to persuade you to take a side, or dissuade you either. What I will recommend is to be certain that if you do pick the company of one over the other, that you do it completely deliberately instead of stumbling ass-backwards into the choice."