In another sign that President Trump’s bogus voter fraud claims are encouraging violent rhetoric, the Arizona Republican Party’s official Twitter account asked its followers today if they are prepared to give up their lives to fight for the president in his quest to overturn the results of the election.
The party retweeted a post by user Ali Alexander, a right-wing activist promoting efforts to “Stop the Steal,” in which he pledged that he’s “willing to give up my life for this fight.”
“He is. Are you?” the official Arizona GOP account responded.
He is. Are you? https://t.co/OY8qxNMPxm
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) December 8, 2020
The GOP then posted a clip from the movie “Rambo”, highlighting the quote: “This is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something.”
Trump’s most ardent supporters have been backing his false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 race and have rallied across the state to protest the election outcome.
The Arizona GOP has been pushing these falsehoods on its official Twitter account and appears to be potentially riling up such supporters by inciting violence.
This account has had erratic tweets in the past, but recent tweets have marked a significant departure from the norms observed by official communication arms for the major parties.
“Live a life of service to a cause greater than yourself,” the party tweeted later.
The majority of respondents — which included voters, lawmakers and pundits — decried the posts as “dangerous” and “insane.”
“You’re asking people to die for this conspiracy theory?” Arizona Sen. Martín Quezada, D-Maryvale, wrote in a tweet. “What in the living hell is wrong with you people?”
On Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Steven Warner dismissed Arizona GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward’s lawsuit regarding duplicate ballots.
Ward claimed that errors with duplicated ballots offer proof that the election should be overturned and the state’s 11 Electoral College votes should go to Trump.
The right-wing Ward burst on to the scene late in her 2016 primary by making a closing argument against Sen. John McCain that basically amounted to this: He’s going to deteriorate and die soon.
Ward lost to McCain by double-digits, and two years later lost to Rep. Martha McSally by double-digits.