Republican Candidate for Gov. Attempts to Distance Himself From Far-Right Platform, Anti-Semitic CEO
Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, released a statement Thursday distancing himself from Gab and Gab CEO Andrew Torba – a far-right social media platform Mastriano paid a consulting fee to.
“The media watchdog nonprofit Media Matters recently noticed that the campaign to elect Doug Mastriano had paid Gab $5,000 on April 28 for ‘campaign consulting,’ according to the latest campaign finance disclosures,” the Huffington Post reported in mid-July.
Mastriano was notably an automatic follow for any new users on Gab.
The revelation led to loud condemnation as Gab, a platform used by white supremacists including the shooter behind the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, remains a “haven for hate, and Torba himself has grown increasingly antisemitic and racist in his words and behavior,” the report adds.
Mastriano went into damage control mode and released a statement on the issue.
“Andrew Torba doesn’t speak for me or my campaign. I reject anti-Semitism in any form. Recent smears by the Democrats and the media are blatant attempts to distract Pennsylvanians from suffering inflicted by Democrat policies,” Mastriano said.
“While extremist speech is an unfortunate but inevitable cost of living in a free society, extremist policies are not – and the only candidate in this election who wants to impose extreme policies on Pennsylvania – inflation, crime, lockdowns, and mandates – is Josh Shapiro,” added Mastriano, taking a swipe at his opponent in the race.
Mastriano, notably, did not address whether or not he paid Gab a consulting fee. He also appeared to remove his account from the platform following the statement.
Mastriano’s statement doesn’t address:
-why he paid Torba thousands of dollars for “consulting”
-why he’s an auto-follow for new accounts on Gab
-whether he doesn’t give interviews to Jewish reporters, like Torba claimed https://t.co/3xMLex9jWy— Jacob “Inside Elections is hiring” Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) July 28, 2022
Torba also released a statement on Thursday. “I want to make very clear that I do not work for the Mastriano campaign. I am not their consultant. The campaign paid Gab as a business for advertising during the primary,” Torba said.
“The campaign posts on Gab, as do 50+ other campaigns from around the country. That’s the extent of the relationship,” he added.
“My words are my own. My ideas are my own. They are not representative of Doug or Doug’s campaign. I stand by everything I have said about Christian Nationalism as a movement being an explicitly Christian,” he continued.
UPDATE: Mastriano has removed his account on Gab.
Here is what Torba just posted: “I want to make very clear that I do not work for the Mastriano campaign. I am not their consultant.. My words are my own. My ideas are my own. They are not representative of Doug…” https://t.co/DZUtBQ77ON pic.twitter.com/3WXIZ98BSE
— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) July 28, 2022
Torba, who regularly posts anti-Semitic content, has been mired in controversy since he became a public figure via his role at Gab. “We have been getting 1 million hits an hour all day,” Torba boasted after the Tree of Life Shooting killed 11 Jewish worshippers.
He also encouraged followers on Gab to marry and reproduce with only white people following the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
Torba officially endorsed Mastriano “as part of his efforts to build, ‘A coalition of Christian nationalists at the local and state level to help pioneer a grassroots movement of Christians in Pennsylvania to help take it back for the glory of God,’” reported the New York Times.
The latest polls show Shapiro ahead of Mastriano in November’s election, but the race remains close.
