Trump’s top political aides – inside and outside the White House – and other national Republicans believe that Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2) has not been pushing their desired party line that some sort of trickery is happening in Arizona’s ballot processing and counting. Some speculate that she is silent because she believes re-elected Governor Doug Ducey will appoint her to fill Sen. John McCain’s seat if she loses the election to Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-CD9).
This reporting from Alex Isenstadt and James Arkin at Politico help fill in some of the missing puzzle pieces. When Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale tweeted about “tricks” in Arizona and speculated about “rampant fraud”, followed quickly by the President’s implications that there was corruption on display in Arizona, it was a sudden 1-2 that caught many off guard.
But, when that was followed by Arizona Senator Jon Kyl chiming in and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel calling it intentional “corruption” and “election meddling” on Fox’s Sean Hannity’s show, it was apparent that a strategy had been formed that left out McSally. Trump’s over the top tweet from Paris this afternoon – just as a court hearing on the Republicans’ suit to stop Maricopa and Pima County Recorders from contacting voters was about to begin – brought the chorus to a crescendo.