John Shulli
Role at the time: Candidate who lost the September 15 Republican U.S. Senate primary to Katz, in a video on his Facebook page
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
Arminio should withdraw from the race, because he repeated the conduct after acknowledging his mistake and receiving an explicit warning.
“Mike Katz has shown his true colors. He is a Democrat. He is the Benedict Arnold of the Republican Party. … I find it very disappointing that Katz would throw Dr. Joe Arminio, a fellow Republican candidate for office, under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride. … The hypocrisy is staggering, as you would expect from a Democrat. Yes, Katz is a Democrat, and a coward, and a traitor to the Republican Party of Delaware. He should either withdraw from the race or change his affiliation to Democrat.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)John Shulli Facebook video on Mike Katz and Joseph Arminio · John ShulliFacebook video (1:54), published September 18, 2026; quoted passages at about 0:00–0:26 and 1:46–1:54
Why we used this label
Relative to whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum and withdrawal from the race, Shulli treats the misgendering as insufficient ground for Katz’s call for Arminio to withdraw, faulting Katz for putting Arminio “under the bus for misgendering Representative McBride”. His condemnation is aimed at Katz, not at Arminio’s conduct, so condemns loses. He goes beyond disputing a description, so “Challenged the characterization” loses.