Donald Trump's Rally Plans Just Got Really Awkward
Senate candidate who has been linked to a 2008 profile seeking sex with men—despite the married father of four campaigning against "radical" LGBTQ "indoctrination" as part of his bid for office.Business owner Bernie Moreno has received Trump's support in his bid to become the GOP's candidate in the Ohio Senate race against Sherrod Brown, the Democratic incumbent, in November.
Moreno's lawyer has denied that the business owner played any part in creating the profile, which they insist was made by a former intern as a prank.Ohio, previously a key swing state, has swung dramatically to the Republicans in recent years, with Trump carrying the state in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
This makes Brown a key target for the GOP as it seeks to capture the Senate, where Democrats hold a wafer-thin majority of 51 to 49.Ahead of Saturday's rally, Moreno is facing questions about a 2008 profile on Adult Friend Finder, a sexual hookup website, seeking "young guys to have fun with while traveling." User data from the website was leaked after a major data breach in 2016, and according to the Associated Press, the account was linked to Moreno's work email at the time.The account listed Moreno's birthday, and its username—nardo19672—appears to be a reference to his full name Bernardo and his birth in February 1967.Speaking to the AP, Moreno's campaign team said the account had been created as a prank by Dan Ricci—the senate hopeful's former intern and friend who, according to financial records, donated $6,599 to his campaign in 2023.In a statement provided by Moreno's team, Ricci said: "I am thoroughly embarrassed by an aborted prank I pulled on my friend, and former boss, Bernie Moreno, nearly two decades ago." Charles Harder, Moreno's lawyer, added the Republican "had nothing to do with the AFF account," the AP reported.On Saturday, Trump is due to headline a rally in support of Moreno, his preferred Republican candidate, near Dayton, Ohio.
