For Immediate Release
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Contact: Hannah Goss, hgoss@azdem.org
WHAT THEY’RE WATCHING: Blake Masters Took Trump’s Orders, Doubled Down on Election Denialism Because the Former President Told Him To
PHOENIX — In the days since Tucker Carlson released footage of Blake Masters getting scolded by Donald Trump for going “soft” on his belief that “Trump won in 2020,” Arizonans have heard all about how Masters fell in line, took Trump’s orders, and doubled down on his lies just days later with no regard for the irreparable harm they’ve caused Arizona.
Watch below to see what Arizonans are seeing:
CBS Phoenix: Former President Trump’s Warning for Blake Masters, Suggests to Stand by Claim of 2020 Election Being Stolen
You can hear Trump warn Masters he’ll lose his bid for Senate if he goes soft on election fraud.
Blake Masters won Trump’s endorsement in the primary in large part by repeating the former president’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
CNN: Trump Urges Blake Masters to “Go Stronger” on Election Fraud Claims
- It explains why since the debate, we have seen Masters shift back to the right, back to talking about the lie that Trump won the 2020 election.
- We’ve seen him on Fox News talking about how he believes that there’s a problem with the election, that he believes in the lie. He’s been on conservative radio here in Arizona talking about “people need to go to the ballot boxes and watch…”
- I’m also hearing from Republicans, moderate Republicans in the state, that what they also noticed is that Masters disparagingly talked about ‘RINOs,’ Republicans in name only, the term being thrown around by the far right. That is upsetting because strategically it is moderate Republicans, Independents, moderate Democrats that republicans need to win in order to win that Senate seat, and in that moment, he’s also disparaging the very voters he needs to win over.
- Just listen to Blake Masters, Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona, groveling in a phone call with Trump that was recorded for a documentary on Fox.
- I will just start right at the heart of it…Arizona voters want elected officials to focus on Arizona problems, and to be beholden to a former president who lost the election in Arizona is absolutely unacceptable.
- This election is too high of stakes to hand Arizona’s senatorial seat over to somebody with an unproven record in office and who does exactly what you just saw on the recording, says that he is beholden to President Trump.
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