Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Barnette appears to have been caught making a false claim about voting for Donald Trump during the 2016 primaries.
In an interview on the Chris Stigall show, Barnette was asked about her first vote in the state of Pennsylvania, to which she responded that she voted for Trump in the 2016 primaries.
“The one that really pops out in my mind is 2016 for the primary for President Trump, as well as for the general election for President Trump,” she said on the show.
While Barnette might be telling the truth about her primary vote, her comments certainly contradict what she herself wrote in her past memoir, as Republican strategist Matt Wolking, who works with Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick, pointed out on Thursday.
“Praise God for second chances,” she wrote in her book. “Though I didn’t vote for Trump in the primaries, by the time the general election rolled around I was firmly on the first car of the Trump train.
In the book she published in 2020, Kathy Barnette wrote that “I didn’t vote for Trump in the primaries.”
What else is Kathy Barnette lying about? #PAsen @ChrisStigall pic.twitter.com/cfVB7r7PEY
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) May 13, 2022
Whether Barnette meant to intentionally mislead during the interview or if she simply misspoke remains unknown, but falsely claiming to have voted for Trump in the 2016 primary as a MAGA badge of pride makes for a rather odd hill to die on considering some of the president’s most ardent supporters initially opposed him (some quite virulently) in the primary. Some, such as Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, outright opposed his candidacy and yet still found the president’s favor after changing course. Aside from the passage in her book, Barnette’s past tweets show that she firmly opposed President Trump throughout the primary, routinely knocking his moral character and demeanor.
@Mark60644 Did u c d last Presidential Debate. #Trump2016 was horrid. Even #Rubio challenged d moderator 2 ask him a demanding question.
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) September 27, 2015
#Trump2016 is good 4 beers & barbeque. BUT, not as President.
WE r so morally bankrupt WE c/n c d differ http://t.co/djJRNDlJ2C #WAARadio
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) September 29, 2015
@Mark60644 #Trump2016 is JUST AS LIBERAL as d leaders we currently hv n office. #MoralityMatters & Trump does not rank high in it…
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) September 27, 2015
@Mark60644 NO, we have #Cruz & #BenCarson. I like #Trump2016…he’s a riot. But, he’s nothing more than HEADLINES…very little substance.
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) September 27, 2015
#Trump2016 moral character is questionable!
Braggadocious+constant jabs+4 bankrup+brags bending rules. http://t.co/djJRNDlJ2C #WAARadio
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) September 27, 2015
I agree, there is a real disconnect, for me, in #DrBenCarson endorsing #Trump over #Cruz.
Yet, I can’t throw… https://t.co/oh8JDN76yU
— Kathy Barnette (@Kathy4Truth) March 11, 2016
Whatever her past positions on Trump, Barnette has been vocal in her support of the former president throughout the campaign.
Barnette’s dubious comments come after questions have been raised regarding her military service and after Trump publicly said she would have a tough time winning the general election against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump stated, noting that she has “many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted, but if she is able to do so, she will have a wonderful future in the Republican Party—and I will be behind her all the way.”
