Kelly Ayotte Once Again Chooses Trump Over Granite Staters

Kelly Ayotte Once Again Chooses Trump Over Granite Staters

Last night, after the jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial reached a verdict finding the former president guilty on all counts, former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte confirmed she will continue standing by her endorsement of the former president despite his 34 felony convictions.

Ayotte once again wasn’t forthcoming with her position on Trump: as The Boston Globe reported, “unlike many other political candidates, Ayotte did not immediately share a statement about Trump’s conviction on social media, nor did spokespeople for her campaign respond to The Boston Globe’s request for comment.” 

The Concord Monitor similarly reported: “Ayotte…has a well-documented history of strained relations with Trump. She didn’t react online or in an email statement to the verdict in the case, which was the first time in the nation’s history that a former or current president faced a criminal trial. In a statement to the conservative-leaning NH Journal, Ayotte criticized the verdict and stood by the former president.”

 In 2016, Ayotte infamously rescinded her endorsement of Trump, which many attribute to her reelection loss. Less than a year later, Ayotte would go on to serve then-President Trump as the sherpa for then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch’s Senate confirmation, paving the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade — a longtime goal of both Ayotte and Trump.

Back in the political arena for the governor’s race, Ayotte has once again endorsed the former president, signaling her continued move to the far-right in a primary race that is getting more extreme by the week, but not without escaping criticism from the MAGA wing of her party. Earlier this year, Ayotte refused to say who she voted for in her state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, leading to criticism and questioning from her primary opponent Chuck Morse, who noted “the public keeps asking” who she voted for.

“New Hampshire has rejected Donald Trump twice, yet in the wake of his landmark conviction, Kelly Ayotte is cravenly choosing loyalty to Trump and MAGA extremism over Granite Staters,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien.  “While Ayotte continues to jump at any opportunity to try to earn the trust of the MAGA base, Granite Staters of all political beliefs see her for who she is: a self-interested politician who will do and say anything to get elected.”

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