Trump Echos Hannity and Buries ‘Ultra-MAGA’ Candidate in Pennsylvania: ‘She Has Many Things in Her Past’
Former President Donald Trump tore into GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette on Thursday as news of her surge in the polls dominated headlines.
The influential Drudge Report blared the headline, “ULTRA-MAGA RISE IN PA!,” with a photo of Barnetter superimposed on the U.S. Capitol as Trump sent his statement via email.
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” wrote Trump, who has endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz in the race. “Ultra-MAGA” is a recent term used to describe the hard right of the MAGA base, leaning even further right than Trump himself or his endorsed candidates.
“She has many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted, but if she is able to do so, she will have a wonderful future in the Republican Party—and I will be behind her all the way,” Trump added, echoing a segment on Fox News from Sean Hannity the night before. Hannity has also endorsed Oz – a rare move for a cable news host.
“While Kathy claims to be a MAGA conservative, she has a very troubling history of attacking Donald Trump,” said Hannity on Wednesday night while reading some of her old tweets.
“Dr. Oz is the only one who will be able to easily defeat the Crazed, Lunatic Democrat in Pennsylvania. A vote for anyone else in the Primary is a vote against Victory in the Fall!” concluded Trump in his statement.
The Pennsylvania primary to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has already been one of the most expensive and divisive in recent memory. Politico reported this week that Barnette’s “opponents Mehmet Oz and David McCormick have spent $12.4 million and $11.4 million on television commercials, respectively, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.”
McCormick, a former hedge fund boss and George W. Bush administration official, has the backing of former Trump officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“Other candidates and outside groups have bankrolled $25 million more in spots,” added Politico of the money pouring into the race, noting that “Barnette, on the other hand, has spent a paltry $137,000 on TV.”
The latest poll from the Trafalgar Group found Barnette in second place with 23 percent of the vote, Oz at 25 percent, and McCormick at 22 percent – almost a statistical dead heat.
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