A candidate for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has released a video she says proves former President Donald Trump endorsed her campaign, but the video simply shows Trump making a spontaneous comment without ever mentioning Gail Golec by name.
Golec is seeking the Republican nomination for District 2 against appointee incumbent Thomas Galvin and two other candidates – Doug Little and Thayer Verschoor. Her campaign signs include the claim Golec is “Endorsed By: President Trump” as well as MyPillow’s CEO Mike Lindell.
However, a source close to two well-known Trump associates -Kory Langhofer and Susan Wiles- told Arizona Daily Independent there is no formal Trump endorsement no matter how Golec describes a brief encounter she had with the former President last month in Florida.
The endorsement by Lindell was announced in March during a joint broadcast appearance between him and Golec which has been shared on Rumble. But Golec’s campaign has come under recent scrutiny for her claim of an endorsement by the former president, which is typically announced in a choreographed publicity event.
In response to the criticism, Golec uploaded a video to YouTube last week. The description notes Golec was “pleasantly surprised when President Trump personally endorsed her” during a May 3 event at Mar-A-Lago.
However, only 10 seconds of the three-minute video of Trump’s comments have any connection to Golec, who actually shouts over Trump as he discussed Maricopa County.
“You need to get me in there, Sir, Gail Golec,” she yells, to which Trump replies “I give you my endorsement right now.” Trump then immediately continues his commentary about Maricopa County’s elections.
Not once does Trump mention Golec by name nor has his office issued any public
acknowledgement of a Golec campaign endorsement.
There are several examples of Trump endorsing candidates across Arizona, including one last week for Abe Hamadeh’s run for Arizona Attorney General. It was announced on Trump’s formal letterhead, as well as released to media outlets and social media platforms.
The endorsement also includes a detailed explanation of why the former president is supporting Hamadeh.
Abraham Hamadeh is a fantastic candidate running for Arizona Attorney General. He is a veteran, a former prosecutor and, most importantly, he’s tough and he’s smart. Abe Hamadeh knows what happened in the 2020 Election, and will enforc… #POTUS45 #Trump #AbrahamHamadeh 2022-06-14 pic.twitter.com/yOAiW6TbwU
— President Donald J. Trump, Public Statements (@45Relay) June 18, 2022
The winner of the Aug. 2 Republican primary will be the presumed winner of the Nov. 8 General Election as there is no Democratic candidate running for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors – District 2.