Busted: Trump-backed Republican caught deleting old posts bashing the ex-president

Bernie Moreno, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, has been caught deleting old tweets criticizing Donald Trump — whose endorsement he later sought and won.

CNN's KFile uncovered audio clips and deleted social media posts of the car dealership owner criticizing the ex-president and saying he had submitted a write-in vote for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the 2016 election, although his campaign spokesman insists he "absolutely voted for Trump" that year.

"There’s no scenario in which I would support Trump,” Moreno said in 2016 on a radio show, adding that adding Trump played to people’s “worst emotions.” “If Trump is the nominee, I think the Republican party is now a different party and not a party that I want to be a part of.”

That same year, Moreno called Trump a “fake Republican" and accused him of "conspiring" with Hillary Clinton to take down the Republican Party, and he mocked MAGA hats and criticized the movement's political message.

“What Trump’s message is really about, is that the America that we really want?” Moreno said on the radio show. "Where hatred is stoked and fears are what drive our decision-making?”

Moreno also compared Trump to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a forum on race relations in February 2016, saying that populist politicians had gained popularity due to a decline in education standards, but his spokesman said the Republican candidate had overcome his initial skepticism.

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"It’s no secret that Bernie, like many others, was initially skeptical of President Trump, but he has never been so happy to be proven wrong about something," the spokesman said. “By the time the 2020 election came around, he was an avid supporter and is proud to have been the first candidate for US Senate to endorse President Trump in the 2024 race."