In case you missed it, the Union Leader published a column over the weekend criticizing Republican candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte for her “grotesque” attempt at a rebrand as she tries to return to public office eight years after New Hampshire voters rejected her, including cashing in a “corporate lottery ticket” to serve on numerous boards of out-of-state corporations and reversing herself to say she would support Donald Trump after “angry MAGA Republicans” helped sink her 2016 reelection.
This comes on the heels of a new report from The Daily Beast that exposed Ayotte for associating with Moms For Liberty and Free State Project leader Rachel Goldsmith and her husband Jeremy Kauffman, a leader of New Hampshire’s Libertarian Party — an extremist power couple who have made headlines for leading organizations that put “bounties” on the heads of educators, and for pushing hateful and dangerous rhetoric online.
Read the full column here.
Key Excerpts:
Seven years ago, after a creepy Donald Trump was caught on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women, Ayotte withdrew her support for his first presidential race. She lost her reelection bid to Maggie Hassan, in part due to angry MAGA Republicans.
As an aside, did Ayotte ever thank Hassan for the loss? She should have. That loss resulted in Ayotte’s winning a corporate lottery ticket. Her years serving on a number of corporate boards allowed her to accrue a personal fortune, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from giant defense contractor BAE, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and others.
One would think that winning the corporate jackpot would have given her both the financial independence and the political courage to condemn Trump again, especially given the seriousness of the crimes Trump stands accused of.
One would be wrong.
Instead, when asked about Trump, Ayotte simply said, “I’ll support our Republican nominee.”
What makes her position even more grotesque is that Ayotte withdrew her support for Trump back in 2016 because of his bragging about grabbing women and doing whatever you want with them. Less than four months ago, a jury found that Trump had done exactly that, sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, then calling her a liar. One would think that confirmation of Trump’s lack of character would have solidified Ayotte’s low opinion of Trump. Wrong again.
In prior elections, Ayotte liked to describe herself as an “independent voice.” Not anymore. Winning a Republican primary, even if it means cozying up to Trump, means more to her than independence or principle.
Pathetic, isn’t it?