As Arizona Governor Doug Ducey certified the state’s 2020 election results on Monday, he got a call from an old friend. An old friend with whom he no longer wanted to speak.
Back in July, the governor had bragged about his close relationship with the White House, saying that he received many calls from Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
So many in fact that he had changed the ringtone for the White House on his cellphone to Hail to the Chief so that we would know when an important call was coming through.
Times have changed.
As the governor signed the certification documents that declared Joe Biden the winner of the state, the assembled press could clearly hear Hail to the Chief playing in the governor’s suit jacket pocket.
Mr Ducey retrieved the phone, clicked to reject or mute the call, and placed the device face down on the desk.
“That is cold,” joked MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough after playing the clip on his show, speculating that the president was trying to reach the governor to stop him certifying the results in the last battleground state to do so.
“That is the final scene in the movie, isn’t it? Where you have a Republican who felt he always had to answer to Donald Trump, literally ignoring Donald Trump, and silencing the music that welcomes a president into a room,” said Mr Scarborough’s co-host Willie Geist.
Mr Trump was clearly unamused at having his call rejected and tweeted later: “Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office, especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now.
He added: “What is going on with Doug Ducey? Republicans will long remember!”
Earlier the president has accused Mr Ducey of being guilty of “misconduct” and “blatant corruption”.
Mr Trump also retweeted several followers all of whom denounced the governor, including accusing him of betraying the people of Arizona.
Trump supporters have likened Mr Ducey with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp — also a target of the president.
Mr Kemp was called “hapless” and Mr Trump complained that he wouldn’t use “emergency powers” to help overturn the vote in that state. Such powers do not exist.
One retweet by the president said: “Who needs Democrats when you have Republicans like Brian Kemp and Doug Ducey.”
