Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) falsely claimed Fox & Friends on Friday that she never was skeptical of Donald Trump. What’s more, she bragged, she votes with the president “97 percent” of the time.
That’s a new position for McSally — previously, she’s touted her independence from her party (and from the president), and railed against partisanship in other elected officials.
When McSally ran for Congress in 2014, she assailed incumbent Democrat Rep. Ron Barber for “only” voting against his party 20 percent of the time. Though Barber was statistically one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, she attacked him for not being bipartisan enough. “I don’t think it’s bipartisan when you say you voted against your party only 20 percent of the time,” she said. “If that’s what’s going on in our country, that’s what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.”
McSally explicitly promised that she would “absolutely” vote against her own party more than 20 percent of the time if elected. She has not.
Though in 2016, McSally refused to endorse Donald Trump, calling his Access Hollywood comments bragging about sexually assaulting women to be “disgusting” and “unacceptable,” she has worked assiduously to erase her earlier comments. Aiming to win a statewide GOP primary, she presented herself as a rock-solid Trumper who eschews the bipartisanship she once preached.
Trump's comments are disgusting. Joking about sexual assault is unacceptable. I'm appalled.
— McSally For Senate (@MarthaMcSally) October 8, 2016
Indeed, in this Congress, Rep. McSally — who won her party’s nomination on Tuesday for Sen. Jeff Flake’s open Senate seat — has indeed voted with President Donald Trump a whopping 97.8 percent of the time.
Asked by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade what has changed since her “lukewarm” reaction to Trump in the 2016 campaign, McSally simply pretended that had never been the case.
“No, that’s not true, Brian,” she claimed. “I’ve never endorsed anyone in my life, but during 2016 I was working really hard to get the vote out.”
“I have been working closely with him. My voting record is 97 percent with him. I have a great relationship with him. And we are working together,” McSally boasted.