If there was any doubt left in your mind that the entire MAGA Republican movement is knowingly based on lies, a new Fox News documentary should tell you all you need to know.
Clips from The Candidate: Blake Masters—a documentary produced by White nationalist Fox News host Tucker Carlson—show struggling Arizona MAGA Republican Senate Candidate Blake Masters getting a phone call from former Republican President Donald Trump.
Though the race is narrowing in the final weeks, Masters is one of several red-state MAGA Republican candidates previously thought to be slam dunks for the GOP who have instead trailed their Democratic opponents for much of the midterm season.
In the phone call Masters receives from Trump, the former President offers him a solution to getting more voters into his camp.
Lie more about the 2020 election having been stolen.
\u201cThe MAGA Playbook: Trump calls Blake Masters, tells him to go \u201cstronger\u201d on saying \u201cthe election was rigged and stolen\u201d, like Kari Lake does. (Video: Fox Nation)\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1666743634
Masters has been beleaguered for much of the midterm season, particularly after the June 24 Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade made Masters' extreme stances on reproductive rights stick out like a sore thumb.
His proposals on the issue were instantly proven so deadly to his campaign he was caught scrubbing them from his website in August, replacing them with a softer approach.
But Masters also attempted to play to more moderate Republicans in an increasingly purple Arizona by saying in a debate last month there was no evidence of election fraud in 2020 and Democratic President Joe Biden, who narrowly won Arizona, is the "legitimate President."
Those takes are at odds with nearly all other Trump-endorsed Republican candidates, including Arizonans like Kari Lake, a QAnon follower and diehard Trump devotee who took the lead, albeit narrowly, in the state's governor's race two weeks after trailing Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs all season.
During their phone call, Trump told Masters the key to gaining the lead in his race against Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Kelly like Lake has is to simply lie about 2020.
"It’s the 1-yard line. If you want to get across the line, you need to be stronger on that one thing."
Telling Masters there have been a "lot of complaints" about his soft stance on 2020, Trump went on to say:
“Look at Kari. Kari is winning with very little money and if they say, ‘How is your family?’ she says, ‘The election was rigged and stolen'."
“You’ll lose if you go soft, you gonna lose that base."
After groveling his way through the phone call, Masters, grinning sycophantically for the cameras and obviously stricken by Trump's comments, said:
“I didn’t think I went soft on the election.”
Poor guy.
The chat has struck many as a clear illustration of just how craven and spineless the current GOP is and the extent to which they've brazenly dug into a narrative they seem to acknowledge amongst themselves is a bold-faced lie. Not that many Republican voters will notice or care.
On Twitter, the spectacle left many people disgusted.
\u201c@MikeSington\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1666743634
\u201cReupping this after seeing that video of Blake Masters groveling to Trump.\n\nhttps://t.co/BuuDofjZNT\u201d— Tom Nichols (@Tom Nichols) 1666802299
\u201cPeople are missing the big news in Trump's phone call with Blake Masters. When Trump told Masters to aggressively feed the stolen 2020 lie in order to keep GOP voters on his side, Trump was simply telling the truth about what the MAGA base has become.\nhttps://t.co/gDUZG0Iy5k\u201d— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1666805424
\u201cAnd what was Trump\u2019s \u201cgood pep talk?\u201d What did he tell @bgmasters to do? LIE. Trump told Masters to lie about the stolen election as well as Kari Lake lies.\u201d— Joe Walsh (@Joe Walsh) 1666733597
\u201cTrump told Blake Masters that he needs to be more like Kari Lake.\n\nTrump told Masters to say "the election was rigged and stolen" as much as possible. Otherwise "you're going to lose that base."\n\nThe news here is that Trump is probably right about this.\n\nhttps://t.co/gDUZG0Iy5k\u201d— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1666805424
\u201cLet them fight. https://t.co/IIB8EG05r6\u201d— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1666749978
\u201c@VaughnHillyard Actually painful watching a castration.\u201d— Vaughn Hillyard (@Vaughn Hillyard) 1666731601
\u201c@MikeSington This is disturbing on so many levels. Starting with the nice, soft background music as Masters and Trump discuss how to win off the BIG LIE with the goal to end our democracy.\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1666743634
\u201cIf you want to win, redirect questions and lie about an election that was free and fair by claiming it was \u201crigged and stolen,\u201d Trump tells Masters. A lie that led to a violent insurrection against the government \n\nDisgustingly appalling human beings\u201d— Danny Abriano (@Danny Abriano) 1666738250
As many have noted, Masters' and Trump's phone call also included what appeared to be coordination for funding from far-right billionaire Peter Thiel's SuperPAC, a conversation that is potentially a violation of federal law and seemed to make Masters uncomfortable.
\u201cWhy would Masters walk back the Thiel comment? Possibly worried about coordination with the Thiel-backed super PAC. Also possibly worried about pissing off Trump\u201d— Roger Sollenberger (@Roger Sollenberger) 1666736105
It certainly wouldn't be the first time MAGA Republicans committed crimes right out in the open.
