Ward claims McCain comment hubbub is a smear campaign
Jul 25, 2017, 10:12 AM | Updated: Mar 1, 2018, 3:57 pm
PHOENIX — Dr. Kelli Ward claimed Monday that a controversy surrounding her comments about U.S. Sen. John McCain’s future was a smear campaign against her.
“We have been the target of a coordinated, connected smear attempt,” she said in a Facebook live video she cut short.
“The media has presented something that is completely false,” she said. “They act as though I came out with some kind of an outrageous statement about Mr. John McCain and the terrible diagnosis that he received recently.”
Ward turned heads last week when she said the United States could not sit on its hands while McCain decided his future after surgery revealed he had brain cancer.
“We can’t be at a standstill for John McCain to determine what he’s going to do,” Dr. Kelli Ward told Indiana station 1190 AM WOWO.
Ward went on to say that McCain would likely be advised he should not return to work and would likely not be able to return full strength. She also said she hoped that, should he retire and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey be forced to designate a person to take the seat, her name would be in the conversation.
“I certainly hope so, because I have a proven track record in years on the state Senate of being extremely effective and of listening to the voices of people that I represent,” she said.
Ward said Monday that her words were misconstrued and edited to make it sound as if she were angling for McCain’s place.
“I want to get it on the record that never, never did I say or was the intent behind what I had to say that John McCain should step down and I should take his seat,” she said.
Ward said the negative talk against her was launched after a poll commissioned by her campaign showed her leading U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake in next year’s Senate primary.
“Suddenly, this concerted smear started to try to cut that (her lead) back a little bit,” she said.
She sounded dismayed that she had not received any messages of support from significant people.
“I haven’t received word from any of the feminists out there saying, ‘Hey, what are you doing attacking a strong Republican woman?’ I haven’t received anything from any well-known Republican women either, which is kind of disappointing,” she said.
“I certainly haven’t gotten a tweet of support from Jeff Flake or Deedra Abboud,” she continued. “But I’m used to that kind of double standard applied to conservative women.”