Arizona GOP chairwoman busted by local columnist for whitewashing her ties to Steve Bannon

Kelli Ward, the Trump-loving chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, got busted by a local columnist this week for her efforts to distance herself from indicted former Trump official Steve Bannon.

Writing for the Arizona Republic, columnist E.J. Montini shredded both Ward and President Donald Trump for trying to pretend Bannon hasn't been a critical figure in their political careers.

In fact, he notes that Ward rushed to embrace Bannon after he offered to help her in her failed 2018 bid to win a U.S. Senate seat.

"Ward cozied up to Bannon at a campaign event as if they were best friends," he writes. "Bannon was in the Valley to bolster Ward’s campaign, telling a campaign gathering that the Republican elite are destined to 'reap the whirlwind' and 'that whirlwind is Kelli Ward.'"

But in a TV interview after Bannon had a falling out with Trump, Ward claimed that Bannon didn't really campaign for her despite the obvious evidence to the contrary.

"I don’t know that I actually really got a full endorsement from Steve," she said.