A group of Donald Trump's conservative allies are growing angry over his refusal to endorse their candidates in 2024, according to a new report.
Members of the far-right Freedom Caucus members are accusing the former president of abandoning them — and pointing to Trump's endorsement of Chair Rep. Bob Good's (R-VA) opponent John McGuire as proof, sources tell nonprofit News of the United States journalist Reese Gorman.
“Generally, there is a belief that President Trump is endorsing a whole bunch of squishes across the country,” one source reportedly said. The source also claimed Trump backing McGuire over Good was “part of that pattern.”
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NOTUS found that Trump's endorsement "is often the difference in GOP primaries, with Trump’s endorsement record in primaries standing at 93% in 2022 and 97% in 2020. (His general election success rate is far lower: 83% in 2022 and 78% in 2020.)"
But Freedom Cause members such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) are concerned Trump's opposition to incumbents could backfire.
“Should the president win reelection, I think he will learn to regret having chosen some of the people he’s endorsed,” Roy told NOTUS. “Who will be in the foxhole with you when you’re wanting to actually try to challenge the swamp? If you want to drain it, then you should drain it.”
One Republican aide told NOTUS Trump's potential damage to the Freedom Caucus isn't exactly a top concern.
“The real story here is that these guys throw a temper tantrum every time Trump endorses against their preferred candidate, where most of the time their preferred candidate is a total s---bag," the aide reportedly said.
A Trump ally told NOTUS that Good lost his chance at a Trump endorsement when he threw support behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary.
“Trump is the GOP nominee for president and is in cycle, so obviously he is going to endorse the members of Congress who endorsed his presidential campaign during the primaries,” the ally reportedly said.
“Inversely, he’s probably not going to support the campaign of the members who endorsed against him. Bob Good may be a good conservative, but if he didn’t want Trump to endorse against him, he shouldn’t have endorsed against Trump.”
