Gene Truono
Role at the time: Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party, speaking to WHYY News
Statement summary
Delaware Republican Party chairman Gene Truono told WHYY that the party remains supportive of both Arminio and Katz, and that they are free to say what they believe. He described the issue as “a very fundamental, important right,” the right of the First Amendment. He said that what someone else says “may not be what I would say or what I would support”, but that “I vehemently support the right for people to say what they believe under the Constitution of the United States”.
“I think this comes back down to a very fundamental, important right, and that’s the right of the First Amendment … What someone else says may not be what I would say or what I would support, but I vehemently support the right for people to say what they believe under the Constitution of the United States.”
Why we used this label
Relative to whether Arminio’s conduct warranted removal from the forum and withdrawal from the race, Truono frames the matter as a First Amendment right and says the party remains supportive of Arminio. He distances himself from the content, saying it “may not be what I would say or what I would support”, but that qualification does not change his conclusion, so “Mixed or conditional” loses. He does not say the conduct was wrong or warranted consequences, so condemns loses.