Fact Checkers Give False Rating to Pat McCrory's Ted Budd Attack Ad

Fact checkers on Tuesday defended former President Donald Trump-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) against accusations made by his establishment-backed competitor.

PolitiFact, in a “Mostly False” rating, said former North Carolina governor and U.S. Senate candidate Pat McCrory (R) “cherry picked Budd’s comments” and “overlooked the numerous times Budd condemned Putin for his actions in Ukraine” in a television advertisement for his campaign, which he released on March 8.

In the political attack advertisement entitled “Stand With Me,” McCrory combined clips from two Budd interviews — a February 26, 2022, Fox News interview and a February 28 interview with a CBS affiliate in Raleigh —  of him discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The advertisement spliced several of Budd’s statements together that make him appear supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the video, McCrory accuses Budd of being  “friendly toward Russia” and calling Putin “very intelligent,” before saying that he would never “compliment our enemies”:

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PolitiFact said, “McCrory’s claim contains an element of the truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.”

The fact checker reportedly asked McCrory’s campaign “why it accused Budd of excusing Putin’s actions.” McCrory’s spokesperson Jordan Shaw allegedly pointed to Budd’s comments on Fox News that Putin has “strategic reasons for protecting” his flank and “we understand that.”

“Wouldn’t you describe that comment as excusing the invasion?” Shaw told the fact checker.

PolitiFact ultimately determined that the context of Budd’s full statement lends to an entirely different conclusion.

“McCrory’s ad implied that Budd was forgiving Putin’s actions or attempting to absolve him from blame. However, a review of the full context of Budd’s interviews shows that he also attempted to explain Putin’s motivations, but didn’t endorse or forgive them,” the fact check continues. “Budd said Putin has ‘strategic reasons’ for his actions, but he also called Putin ‘evil,’ ‘erratic,’ and a ‘thug.’ He said he supports Ukraine and he advocated stronger action against Putin.”

Fact Check.org also dissected McCrory’s ad, saying it “omits Budd’s other, less-than-flattering descriptions of Putin.”

In the ad, McCrory says, “While Ukrainians bled and died, Congressman Budd excused their killer.” In between those remarks, two different clips are shown of Budd calling Putin a “very intelligent actor” and saying that “there are strategic reasons why” the Russian president “would want to protect his southern and western flank,” the fact checker found. “However, the ad omits Budd’s other, less-than-flattering descriptions of Putin, as well as Budd’s stated support for Ukraine and his criticism of the Russian-provoked conflict.”

In a statement to Breitbart News after the advertisement was released, Budd’s senior campaign adviser, Jonathan Felts, slammed McCrory for using “empty soundbites” and “underestimating the opposition.”

“Governor McCrory has a long track-record of underestimating the opposition, which is why he’s already lost twice and is about to lose again. Just like Obama and Biden, Governor McCrory seems determined to underestimate Putin,” Felts said. “Ted Budd knows these are serious times that require strength, not the empty soundbites preferred by career politicians like Biden and McCrory, and he accurately described Putin as an evil, intelligent threat to be taken seriously.”

McCrory is notably backed by outgoing Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), one of the seven Senate Republicans who voted in favor of convicting Trump of his impeachment charges in 2021. McCrory served as Charlotte mayor for 14 years, governor for one term, and host to a popular Charlotte-based radio show before terminating it last year to run for office.

Budd, a gun storeowner serving his third term in the U.S. House, received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump in June and is expected to pick up some support from Trump’s base in a state that narrowly voted in favor of the former president in 2020. 

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.