Blake Masters to headline national security event, says Mark Kelly 'fooled' voters on border position

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are set to headline an event this Friday addressing issues related to national security just weeks ahead of the November midterm elections.

The event, hosted by former Trump administration State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus and her national security advocacy organization Polaris National Security, will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona, and will include former acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Ortagus explained that the event would include an hour-long discussion with Masters, Wolf and Graham, and would be an opportunity for people to see political leaders, as well as those running for office, on stage addressing the national security issues facing the country.

She insisted that the event was not a political or campaign event, but rather a discussion about the challenges someone dealing with national security implications, such as a current or potential U.S. senator, might face.

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Then-spokesperson for the U.S. State Department Morgan Ortagus answers questions during a press conference in Washington on Sept. 12, 2019.
(Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ortagus listed a number of topics that would be discussed, including threats from the Chinese Communist Party, the Iran nuclear deal, the U.S. relationship with Taiwan, and the border crisis, as well as a number of others.

Fox News Digital also spoke with Masters ahead of the event, who said he planned to highlight how much safer the U.S. was prior to President Biden taking office.

“The world has always been a dangerous place, but I think it’s gotten a lot more dangerous … and it’s because of Biden and his failed leadership,” Masters said.

He also slammed his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, for not standing up to the Biden administration when it came to things like the failed Afghanistan withdrawal.

“Mark Kelly is on the Armed Services Committee, and he didn’t even seem to care about getting to the bottom of what happened, even after the fact,” Masters said.

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Republican Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters smiles on stage prior to a televised debate with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Libertarian candidate Marc Victor in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

When asked about Kelly’s statements during the recent debate between the two candidates regarding his disagreement with the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis, Masters staunchly dismissed the notion that Kelly had actually broken with his fellow Democrats.

“He’s fooled some people, perhaps, into thinking that he’s broken with them, but calling policy he’s been supporting in lock step for 22 months … ‘a mess’ like he tried to do at the debate the other night? Actions speak louder than words,” he said, going on to cite Kelly’s votes against a number of measures intending to address issues at the border.

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Recent polling has shown majorities of voters favor Republicans to handle the issue of national security over their Democratic counterparts, especially when it comes to addressing the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S. southern border.

The Biden administration, as well as Democratic member of Congress, has received sharped criticism for their handling of a number of international crises, including the disastrous pullout U.S. forces from Afghanistan last year and the war between Russia and Ukraine.