As the PA-Gov candidates prepare for their second debate tonight, will they peddle his new lies and do his bidding in Pennsylvania?
PENNSYLVANIA — The crowded race for the Republican nomination for Governor has been called the “Super MAGA” primary and the “Trump primary,” and this morning, Donald Trump injected new lies into the race. In an interview with NPR, Trump reiterated his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was a “rigged election,” even saying “there were far more votes than voters” in Philadelphia — a claim that has been repeatedly debunked and disproven by the courts and independent experts.
Still, Trump said “it’s an advantage to talk about the 2020 election in 2022, because otherwise they’re going to do it again in ‘22 and ‘24.” Trump called GOP candidates who make the Big Lie a central part of their campaign “the ones that are smart” and called on GOP candidates in 2022 to “solve the problem of the presidential rigged election of 2020.”
The leading GOP candidates in the PA-Gov primary are all-in on appealing to Donald Trump and his MAGA base — they’ve groveled for his endorsement, hired his former inner circle to run their campaigns, and adopted his positions on voter fraud. At the second primary debate tonight, the candidates should answer a few simple questions:
- Do they agree with Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “corrupt?”
- Do they agree with Donald Trump that it is “an advantage to talk about the 2020 election in 2022?”
- Do they agree with Donald Trump that if they don’t talk about the 2020 election, “they’re going to do it again in ‘22 and ‘24” and those elections will not be fairly run?
- Do they agree with Donald Trump’s debunked claim that “there were far more votes than voters” in Philadelphia?
- Will they heed Trump’s advice and “solve the problem of the presidential rigged election of 2020?”
“The crowded group of MAGA wannabes in the ‘Trump primary’ has made clear they want Donald Trump’s endorsement and they’ll do anything to appeal to his far-right base — even if that means obsessing over election conspiracies instead of focusing on the issues that matter most to Pennsylvania families,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesperson Marisa Nahem. “As Trump once again promotes his dangerous lies, Pennsylvanians deserve answers from the Republican gubernatorial candidates: do they agree with Donald Trump’s debunked claim that the 2020 presidential election was ‘rigged’ and ‘corrupt,’ and will they continue to put the Big Lie first, destabilizing our democracy with Trump’s lies?”
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