Yesterday, President Trump may have cemented his position as the kingmaker of the Republican Party after Dave McCormick conceded in the Pennsylvania Senate Primary, making Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz the nominee.
Oz’s victory brings Trump’s success rate for primary endorsements up to 93% for the 2022 primaries. President Trump followed up on Oz’s big win by endorsing Blake Masters for the Arizona Senate primary, a move that most of his core supporters applauded.
In a move that confused and angered many of the President’s supporters, he endorsed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) for re-election in the 2022 midterms.
The official statement says that McCarthy is an ‘outstanding representative’ for the people of California and a ‘tireless advocate’ for the people in his district.
The endorsement comes just a week after McCarthy was met with boos at President Trump’s rally in Wyoming. When he appeared virtually and introduced himself as the leader of the Republicans, he was not warmly received.
Are they booing McCarthy? pic.twitter.com/mbX4s65D3k
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 28, 2022
In April, McCarthy was accused of privately attacking Trump after the unrest at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on January 6th.
McCarthy reportedly said that he ‘had it’ with President Trump and planned to pressure him to resign.
He denies ever saying that he wanted Trump to resign, but the New York Times published a recording of him saying exactly that.
His supporters took to social media to express their frustration at the endorsement. Conservative influencer Stacy Rae responded to the endorsement, saying “We’re screwed”.
Some of President Trump’s supporters have said that conservative firebrand Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) should become the House Speaker if Republicans retake the house in 2022. President Trump’s endorsement makes no mention of supporting him for Speaker.