Advertisement NH Primary Source: Beto O’Rourke team hits Trump for ‘degrading’ comments about NH Democratic Presidential candidate issues reminder of 'drug-infested den' remark, voter fraud claim Share Shares Copy Link Copy

ATTACK ON TRUMP NH-FOCUSED REMARKS. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s New Hampshire campaign issued a pointed New Hampshire-specific attack on President Donald Trump as he made his second term announcement Tuesday, reminding Granite State voters that the president has made “degrading” and “derogatory” comments about their state.Trump has said, and his supporters say, that he is fond of New Hampshire, the site of his first victory in the 2016 cycle – the Republican first-in-the-nation primary. A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee said his accomplishments have helped Granite Staters.But the O’Rourke campaign focused on Trump’s remarks that New Hampshire is a “drug-infested den” made in a private telephone conversation with the Mexican president shortly after Trump took office and a behind-closed-doors comment that he narrowly lost the Granite State in the 2016 general election because of voter fraud.“While Beto has laid out a vision that brings every single American into the solutions to the challenges facing this country, President Trump has hurt Granite State voters with his reckless policies and derogatory comments about New Hampshire,” the O’Rourke campaign said. Mike Ollen, New Hampshire state director for O’Rourke, said, “President Trump has degraded the Granite State by trying to take away health care and mental health resources from countless residents, failing to deliver on his promises to tackle the opioid crisis, and running a campaign based on fear and division. At a time when our country faces some of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, we need a president who will bring more people into this democracy and ensure we are all part of the solution, and that’s exactly the campaign Beto is running here in New Hampshire and across the country.”The campaign pointed out that a transcript of a 2017 telephone conversation between the Mexican president, newly-elected Trump, said he "won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den." Gov. Chris Sununu, a fellow Republican, called Trump’s comments a “mischaracterization” and “disappointing.”O’Rourke’s campaign said Trump has failed to adequately fund the drug crisis in the Granite State and has cut funding to Medicaid and mental health services.In August 2017, Trump told Republican former Sen. Kelly Ayotte in a closed-door meeting with sitting senators and then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch that Ayotte and Trump lost their New Hampshire contests in 2016 because thousands of people were “brought in on buses” from Massachusetts to “illegally” vote in New Hampshire.State officials at the time and subsequently said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state during the 2016 election.“While President Trump has focused on making it harder for Americans to exercise their right to vote, Beto released a bold plan that would reconnect more Americans with their democracy and make sure every voice and every vote counts," the O'Rourke campaign said."His plan would end restrictive voting laws, reverse draconian voter ID laws, celebrate the strengths of New Hampshire’s unique electoral system by bringing the entire country up to speed with same-day voter registration and protect the security and sanctity of each vote by investing in paper ballots.”“He would also strengthen student voting rights by affirming their right to participate in elections in the state in which they attend college and thwarting restrictive voting laws like New Hampshire’s House Bill 1264.”Republican National Committee spokesperson Nina McLaughlin responded, "President Trump has delivered real results for Granite Staters, like enacting historic tax cuts that led to a booming economy, negotiating better trade deals like USMCA and combating the crippling opioid epidemic that has devastated so many families."If Beto can’t recognize what the president has done to help New Hampshire and our country, then he needs to get his head out of the clouds and climb off of whatever counter he’s standing on.”