Is Gov. Doug Ducey lying about John McCain or Kari Lake?

It’s getting more and more difficult to figure out when Gov. Doug Ducey is lying.

I had trouble trying to figure it out after Kari Lake won the Republican primary for governor.

Prior to that Ducey went on CNN and said, “Kari Lake is misleading voters (about the 2020 election) with no evidence. She’s been tagged by her opponents with the nickname ‘Fake Lake,’ which seems to be sticking and actually doing some damage.”

He added, “This is all an act. She’s been putting on a show for some time now and we’ll see if the voters of Arizona buy it.”

What Ducey and Lake said of John McCain

After she won, however, Ducey tweeted, “As co-chairman of the Republican Governors Association, our organization is already active on the airwaves supporting Kari Lake’s candidacy. Congratulations to Kari on a hard-fought victory and to all the candidates who will be carrying the GOP banner in November.”

He also said, “This is going to be an important election given the issues our state is facing and it’s important for Arizona Republicans to unite behind our slate of candidates.”

Within days of her victory Lake continued her ongoing attack of the late-Sen. John McCain, telling an audience at the Conservative Political Action conference, “We drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine.”

On Monday, which would have been McCain’s 86th birthday, Ducey tweeted, “Arizona honors the life of a true hero – John McCain – on what would have been his 86th birthday. John embodied integrity and always put his state first.”

About McCain, Lake also said, “John McCain may be dead but he is reaching up from the grave trying to keep power in Arizona. And it was never about power that helped the people of Arizona. It was never about that. It was about maintaining his power, incredible power, in the entire U.S., world power, and he had complete power over Arizona. And rarely did he do anything good for the people, and the people are aware of that, they are trying. They are on their last gasp.”

Is McCain 'trusted and tested' or a 'swamp'?

She also once told an audience at a campaign event, “This is time to replace that disgusting, dirty McCain Swamp with, maybe, I don’t know … a Lake? You need somebody who is going to represent ‘we the people.’ ”

Ducey, on the other hand, said after McCain died, “His talk of country first wasn’t simply a slogan on a campaign yard sign. This man was trusted and tested, qualities in short supply.”

Meantime, Ducey also said this of Lake when she criticized his border policy, “She’s a candidate. She’s making things up.”

And now he supports her?

This is why I asked in an earlier column if Ducey was lying about Lake before the primary election or if he’s lying about her after she won.

And it’s why I’m asking now if he was lying about John McCain when he said all those nice things about the senator or if he is lying now when he says he supports Lake?

Ducey may be lying to us or himself, or both

Because the two do not sync up.

Ducey spoke warmly of a friendship with McCain, saying there was “nobody tougher;” that McCain had a personality “bigger than the room;” that he “thought the world” of McCain.

Would you support someone who trashed a friend you thought the world of?

Lake said McCain represented a “swamp” and she had to “drive a stake through the heart of the McCain machine.”

This isn’t difficult. We all face choices.

You can’t be a Boston Red Sox fan AND a New York Yankees fan.

You can’t be a fan of Ukraine AND Russia.

You can’t be a fan of Alexander Hamilton AND Aaron Burr.

It’s McDonald’s or Burger King. Pepsi or Coke. Pat’s or Geno’s (Philly cheesesteak reference, Google it.) Marvel or D.C. Walmart or Target.

It’s impossible to be a fan of John McCain AND Kari Lake.

And while it’s not be possible to know whether Ducey is lying about McCain or lying about Lake, we know one thing for sure.

He is lying to himself.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gov. Doug Ducey is still lying about John McCain or Kari Lake