Former President Donald Trump is raging at Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), accusing the Arizona Republican of offering “zero help” as Republican state legislators begin reviewing 2020 ballots in an effort to undermine results.
Trump slammed Ducey in separate statements Friday and Saturday for what he deemed insufficient support for the effort.
“Why are the Democrats so desperate to stop this Election Fraud from being revealed? That answer is obvious! The Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, has been shockingly of zero help to the State Senate. He wants to ‘pretend’ the election was free and fair. What are he and the Maricopa County Commissioners trying to hide?” Trump said in a statement Friday.
Trump continued his assault on Ducey early Saturday morning, demanding him to provide security for those conducting the audit.
“The Republican Party is demanding that Governor Ducey of Arizona immediately provide large-scale security for the brave American Patriots doing the Forensic Audit of the 2020 Presidential Election. Governor Ducey will be held fully responsible for the safety of those involved. State police or National Guard must be immediately sent out for protection. The Democrats do not want to have this information revealed, and they will do anything to stop it. Governor Ducey must finally act!” he said.
The controversial audit began this week after a Maricopa County handed nearly 2.1 million ballots and nearly 400 tabulation machines over to the state Senate after Republican lawmakers subpoenaed the materials and a conservative judge ruled county officials had to comply.
The partisan effort, which could stretch for roughly two months, comes after county election officials conducted two audits and found no evidence of widespread voter fraud and other issues. The Arizona Secretary of State has already certified the election results, showing President Joe Biden narrowly won the state. But the latest review highlights how many Republicans continue to cling to former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020 — falsehoods that continue to roil the GOP.
But Trump has repeatedly leveled claims that the election was “stolen” from him, but he and his allies have thus far failed to produce any substantive evidence of widespread fraud.
The former president has focused most of his attention on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who shot down pressure from Republicans to overturn the state’s election results showing President Biden up by more than 11,000 votes. Trump has vowed to back a primary rival to Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), who also did not go along with Trump’s requests to alter the vote total.
Ducey first drew Trump’s ire for certifying Biden’s victory in Arizona in November, with the former president saying there was “no way” he lost the Grand Canyon State and maintaining that “Arizona will not forget what Ducey just did.” Ducey also was censured by the Arizona GOP for certifying the election results.
Ducey, who is term-limited and ineligible to run for a third consecutive term in 2022, shot back with his own criticism in January, accusing Trump of inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
