President Donald Trump accused an Democratic Indiana Senator of ‘trying to steal the election’ from his Republican opponent by paying for Facebook ads supporting the state’s Libertarian candidate.
Trump blasted Sen Joe Donnelly in a tweet Saturday evening as he was on his way from one rally in Montana to another in Florida.
‘Rumor has it that Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana is paying for Facebook ads for his so-called opponent on the libertarian ticket. Donnelly is trying to steal the election? Isn’t that what Russia did!?’ Trump wrote on Twitter.
The tweet was in reference to a Daily Beast report about the Indiana Democratic Party buying ads for Libertarian Party candidate Lucy Brenton.
The Senate race between incumbent Donnelly and Republican Mike Braun remains one of the most closely watched in the nation as voters prepare to head to the polls in just three days.
President Donald Trump accused Indiana Democratic Sen Joe Donnelly of ‘trying to steal the election’ from Republicans by paying for Facebook ads promoting his Libertarian opponent
The Indiana Democratic party began buying ads on Thursday telling conservatives to vote for Libertarian Party candidate Lucy Brenton (left) instead of GOP candidate Mike Braun (right)
Trump’s tweet on Saturday afternoon referenced a Daily Beast report about the Facebook ads
According to the Daily Beast report, the Democratic Party in Indiana on Thursday began purchasing Facebook ads in a last-ditch effort to split the Republican vote.
The set of seven ads bolstering support for long-shot Libertarian candidate Brenton say they are ‘authorized by Donnelly for Indiana’, the incumbent’s campaign.
One of the ads says: ‘Mike Braun will say anything to get elected, but the fact is that he was an active Democrat for decades, and voted to raise your taxes 159 times.
It ends by declaring: ‘Lucy Brenton is the true anti-tax conservative.’
Another add says that Braun ‘likely vot[ed] for Hillary Clinton,’ and calls on conservatives to ‘vote your values on November 6’.
The ads have been running on two Facebook pages titled Tax Hike Mike Braun and Hoosier Conservatives, which were created on Wednesday and don’t have any other posts aside from the ads.
The Indiana Democratic Party have defended the ads, saying they are ‘perfectly legal, factual, and accurately represent Lucy Brenton’s anti-tax record.’
Party chairman John Zody said in a statement: ‘The ads highlighting how Lucy Brenton is the true conservative in the Indiana Senate race are paid for by the Indiana Democratic Party.’
Four of the ads promoting long-shot Libertarian candidate Lucy Brenton, which are running on two Facebook pages titled Tax Hike Mike Braun and Hoosier Conservatives, are pictured above
Trump has been keeping a close eye on the Indiana Senate race in the final days before the midterms.
He held a rally in the state on Friday and is expected to return again on Monday.
While few were surprised by the fact that Trump would criticize Donnelly, his decision to draw a comparison to the Russian election meddling caught many off guard.
The president repeatedly pushed back on assessments from top intelligence agencies in the US who determined that Kremlin-linked entities ran a stealth ad campaign intended to support Trump’s bid for the Oval Office in 2016.
Trump renewed his support for Braun during a rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Friday night