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By and large, Republicans are ignoring Donald Trump's claims that there is election fraud in Pennsylvania that is preventing Dr. Mehmet Oz from claiming victory over David McCormick and Politico's David Siders is reporting that GOP lawmakers are increasingly moving on from echoing Trump's belief that every election that doesn't go there way is tainted.
As it stands now, Pennsylvania Republicans are furious with Trump after he criticized the fact that the GOP Senate primary has no clear winner yet by proclaiming on Truth Social, "The Pennsylvania Oz race is ridiculous. How long does it take to count votes. France, same day all paper, had VERIFIED numbers in evening. U.S. is a laughingstock on Elections. Stop FINDING VOTES in PENNSYLVANIA! RIGGED?”
As Siders notes, Trump's raving is a voice in the wilderness as lawmakers are not taking up his latest conspiracy theory and are finding his complaints about election tampering are growing old and stale.
"Donald Trump has been lying about voter fraud for so long that his impugning of yet another election seemed almost inevitable. What was more revealing was that, for the first time, Republicans appeared not to be listening," Siders wrote before adding, "Trump’s earliest effort to graft his 2020 complaints onto ballot counting in a midterm primary is falling flat. MAGA hard-liners who’ve lost primaries in other states in recent weeks have not contested the results. And when the primary calendar turns to Georgia on Tuesday, Trump’s election conspiracy crusade is likely to take another hit."
RELATED: PA Republican officials are furious with Trump
According to Christopher Nicholas, a Pennsylvania campaign consultant, "No one’s paying any attention to it.”
Jason Shepherd, the ex-chair of the Republican Party in Georgia’s Cobb County, added that Trump's appeal is also waning, telling Politico, "I think the shine has gone off a bit,” and that an endorsement from Trump "is not going to be the end-all and be-all.”
According to one former Trump adviser, candidates like Oz and McCormick are smart to not echo Trump's latest conspiracy theory.
"Nobody wants to be viewed as a sore loser and make allegations they can’t sustain," they suggested. "They’re both intelligent guys. They’re both sane guys, and neither of them wants to embarrass himself.”
Siders' report continued, "But for Republican candidates this cycle, the difference between 2022 and 2020, said John Thomas, a Republican strategist working on House campaigns across the country, is that 'we’re just not seeing it where people hang on his every word.' He advises his candidates to watch Tucker Carlson every night to 'be in tune' with the electorate, not Trump on Truth Social, the platform on which Trump suggested the Pennsylvania election might be 'rigged.'"
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Pennsylvania Republicans and election officials are growing increasingly furious with Donald Trump over his attacks on the vote-counting in the exceedingly close GOP Senate primary race between Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
With election results from last Tuesday likely headed to a recount, the former president has raged at the state while urging Oz, whom he endorsed, to just declare victory and move on.
In one blast since election day, the former president has raged on his Trtuth Social social media platform, "The Pennsylvania Oz race is ridiculous. How long does it take to count votes. France, same day all paper, had VERIFIED numbers in evening. U.S. is a laughingstock on Elections. Stop FINDING VOTES in PENNSYLVANIA! RIGGED?”
That has Republicans in the state shaking their heads and worrying that he will also interfere with the vote counts in November causing even more headaches for them.
RELATED: 'Stop finding votes!' Trump rages against election being 'rigged' against Dr. Oz
According to the Post Gazette, "In the too-close-to-call Republican Senate primary race in Pennsylvania, the aura of former President Donald Trump and his claims of election legitimacy, once again hang over the state," adding, "The dynamic reflects how, following the precedent set in 2020, close elections may face scrutiny and doubt even when there is no evidence to support wrongdoing or error. Election officials in Pennsylvania are girding for similar complaints in November but fear there are few ways to combat deliberate misinformation and rising political toxicity."
After noting, "Republicans in Pennsylvania have recoiled at language from Mr. Trump that they say could undermine the legitimacy of the party’s nominee in the November vote," the Post Gazette's Colby Itkowitz and Rosalind Helderman spoke with Seth Bluestein, a Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who expressed dismay with Trump's meddling.
“It’s concerning because it’s statements like that that lead to threats against election officials. It’s the same game plan he used in 2020, so I’m not surprised,” he explained. “The most important thing we can do is be as transparent as possible, continue to build those relationships so there is a degree of trust between us and the people observing the election.”
Jackie Kulback, chairwoman of the Cambria County Republicans, admitted that she thought there was some "mischief" in the 2020 presidential election vote counting but that she sees no problem with R Tuesday's primary election.
“All I can say is from my vantage point, I could not have been prouder of my election board and every person who was working. I saw a group of people who were truly diligent and trying to do what was right,” she confessed.
Dave Ball, chairman of the Washington County Republicans, was less circumspect when addressing Trump's complaints.
“I’m flabbergasted. When somebody who advocates that everybody needs to get their votes out and their opponents are cheating, and now he is talking about his own party?” he complained.“When the president says let’s cut it off here because I like the number here, so let’s stop, I don’t understand the point of making statements like that.”
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Trump, Jr. winds up in felony poaching scandal in Utah after killing a bear baited with pastries: report
May 22, 2022
Second-generation New York real estate heir Donald Trump, Jr. is caught up in yet another hunting scandal.
Utah hunting guide Wade Lemon is facing five years in prison for baiting a bear that was killed by Trump, Jr. on May 18, 2018, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.
But the New York developer may not have been familiar enough with western hunting to know about the felony poaching.
"Trump Jr. is not named in a recent filing against Lemon, but the DNR confirmed his identity as the person named in the felony complaint as Lemon’s “client” on the hunt. Prosecutors have indicated there was no evidence showing Trump Jr. would have known about the alleged baiting that went on during the hunt," the newspaper reported. "Without naming Trump Jr., Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said the hunter in the case 'was actually a victim and a now a possible witness in a fraudulent scheme to lead the hunter to believe it was actually a legitimate Wild West hunting situation.'"
Trump, Jr. posted pictures of his hunting trip to Instagram.
"On Sept. 3, 2020, The Utah Investigative Journalism Project requested files on closed investigations against Wade Lemon Hunting. The DNR provided files on cases dating back to 2009 except for the case on the 2018 Trump Jr. hunt. DNR had decided to reopen that case and denied the records request, stating the release would interfere with the now 'open' investigation," the newspaper reported. "DNR turned the case over to the Utah Attorney General’s Office. Utah Attorney General Reyes has close ties to Trump, having campaigned for him and even flying to Nevada to investigate the election results after Trump’s defeat at the polls and signed on to a lawsuit claiming 'unlawful election results.' The Attorney General’s Office reinvestigated the case for months, then handed it off to the Davis County Attorney’s Office to screen for filing of charges."
Trump, Jr.'s guided hunting trip resulted in kills of a black bear and mountain lion.
"Charging documents allege Lemon’s outfitters illegally used bait on the bear shot by Trump Jr. According to the document, a witness identified Lemon and his employees during the hunt in May 2018 and was able to identify Lemon over radio traffic, giving instructions to his employees," the newspaper reported. "The illegal bait, 'a pile of grain, oil and pastries' was discovered with a trail camera pointed right on it with 'WLH' (for Wade Lemon Hunting) written on the side and with Lemon’s own telephone number, according to court documents. The charging documents also include evidence from a subordinate confirming Lemon had him place the bait in the location several weeks before the hunt."
The guide Trump, Jr. hired for his hunt has been investigated before.
"Hunting guides who cater to the wealthy elite have a lot at stake in ensuring successful hunts. These companies employ hunters to scout woods, deserts, mountains and plains for the biggest game, to ensure these high-profile clients have the highest chance for a successful hunt. According to DNR, Wade Lemon Hunting has been investigated eight times for allegedly breaking the law to ensure a successful hunt, though he was not charged with a felony until Tuesday," the newspaper explained.
The vast majority of game taken in America is from hunters who do not require a hired guide.
The former president's eldest son has previously had scandals over killing an elephant in Africa, killing an endangered sheep in Mongolia, and killing pregnant prairie dogs in Montana.
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