'Not one penny ever went to Biden': Oklahoma GOP candidate's wife addresses donation controversy

WASHINGTON, DC: Wendy Drummond, the wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Gentner Drummond, delivered a tearful public apology after a Biden campaign donation linked to her family became a political issue in her husband's Oklahoma governor campaign.

The emotional video came as political rivals continued highlighting the donation. The controversy has resurfaced amid Oklahoma's crowded governor's race.

Wendy Drummond fights back against donation criticism

“I can’t stand by silently any longer,” Wendy Drummond said at the start of a video posted on her husband's social media accounts. Fighting back tears, she said she had wanted to address the controversy for some time.

“It’s just heartbreaking for me to watch the man I love be attacked for something that was my fault,” she said.

The statement centered on a donation linked to Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign that appeared in public campaign finance records and has since become an issue in the Oklahoma governor's race.

Wendy said the situation stemmed from a mistake she made during the 2020 election cycle.

Wendy Drummond explains controversial Biden donation

“In 2020, I heard something that made me so emotional that I made a mistake,” she said in the video. According to Wendy Drummond, she attempted to make a $1,000 political contribution using her Apple Pay account without discussing it with her husband.

“I attempted to make a political contribution. I never discussed it with Gentner,” she said. She also said she did not realize the account was linked to a joint credit card she shared with her husband.

The explanation formed the core of her defense as criticism of the donation continued to circulate among political opponents.

Wendy Drummond says Biden never got donation

The most forceful part of her statement came when she disputed the claim that money ultimately went to Biden's campaign.

Wendy Drummond said the contribution was canceled and argued that the attacks against her husband were based on a misunderstanding of what happened.

“Not one penny ever went to Joe Biden,” she said.

She then returned to the personal toll the controversy has taken on her family. “Now political opponents are using my mistake over and over to attack Gentner,” Wendy Drummond said. “And it hurts.”

According to reporting by Newsweek, the $1,000 donation appeared in public records and campaign finance data, giving opponents an opportunity to raise questions as candidates compete in the race for governor.

For now, Wendy Drummond's emotional defense has thrust the issue back into the spotlight, with her insistence that the donation never reached Biden likely to remain part of the political debate surrounding Gentner Drummond's campaign.