Former President Donald Trump rescinded his endorsement of Rep. Mo Brooks’ (R-Ala.) campaign for the U.S. Senate, and nobody should be surprised.
Their breaking point was the 2020 election, which Trump has long argued was intentionally rigged in order to put President Joe Biden into the White House.
“Mo Brooks of Alabama made a horrible mistake recently when he went ‘woke’ and stated, referring to the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, ‘Put that behind you, put that behind you,’ despite the fact that the Election was rife with fraud and irregularities,” Trump said in an email statement, according to the New York Post.
Although Brooks originally had a polling edge, Mike Durant and Katie Britt are now vying for the frontrunner slot, according to a recent Gray TV/Alabama Daily News survey. Britt, who is outgoing Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) former chief of staff, is expected to gain Trump’s new blessing.
The congressman had a bitter but candid response to Trump’s scathing rebuke of him, which Brooks tried to spin as Trump getting duped by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“It’s disappointing that, just like in 2017, President Trump lets Mitch McConnell manipulate him again. Every single negative TV ad against our campaign has come from McConnell and his allies. I wish President Trump wouldn’t fall for McConnell’s ploys, but, once again, he has,” he said in a statement.
“President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency. As a lawyer, I’ve repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period.”
Later in the statement, he took a swipe at Britt in a poorly executed attempt to paint her as an establishment liberal.
“I’m still the most conservative candidate in the race. Katie Britt’s campaign is supported and funded by McConnell allies, and she’s still a high taxing, open borders, cheap foreign labor, Chamber of Commerce lobbyist.”
It goes without saying that this primary has been brutal, but also telling when it comes to the value of a Trump endorsement. While his stamp of approval is good for getting initial support, as I mentioned Tuesday in my column about Sarah Palin, it is dangerous for candidates to use his endorsement as an excuse to be complacent. Trump believed Brooks would be in lockstep with him in regard to the last election, making their political relationship transactional at best.
The former president is extremely temperamental, so his endorsement should only be considered one asset in the Republican campaign toolbox. For example, Britt has an agenda aligned with the former president, except she has had to count on her own gravitas to win over Alabamans. As she is significantly younger than her fellow candidates, she provides a fresh face that may make some voters optimistic about the future of conservatism in the United States.
The primary is not until May, which means that there is still some time for the race the shift in anybody’s favor. But for now, Brooks might want to get rid of the “endorsed by Trump” Iabel in his campaign logo.
