The Alabama congressman and MAGA loyalist learned he had lost Trump's endorsement through a reporter’s tweet.
Moe Brooks is leading the race for the Alabama Senate as the MAGA candidate. Except for now, he's doing so without Donald Trump's blessing.
Trump surprised the veteran congressman on Wednesday by withdrawing his support in the coldest way possible: Brooks learned he had lost Trump's support after a reporter sent him a tweet.
Trump's decision, which dealt a serious blow to Brooks' chances of succeeding retired GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, marked the culmination of an increasingly rocky relationship between the former president and one of his staunch supporters in Congress.
After losing an early lead in the polls, Brooks' speedy campaign lagged behind GOP opponents Katie Britt and Mike Durant in both fundraising and voting, prompting Trump to reconsider his support.
According to Brooks' campaign, Brooks and Trump had a phone conversation as recently as last Monday, with no mention of support being in danger. But Trump gave an interview the next day in which he called Brooks "disappointing." Then, without warning, the former president announced his decision in a statement sent to reporters.
"Mo Brooks of Alabama recently made a terrible mistake when he 'wake up' and said, 'Keep it behind you, keep it behind you,' referring to the 2020 presidential election scandal, despite the fact that election fraud and irregularities. If we forget, the Radical Left Democrats will continue to cheat and steal the election," Trump said in a statement Wednesday morning, referring to an August rally where Brooks said it It's time to move on from 2020.
Minutes later, the Alabama congressman went to Birmingham talk radio station, WERC, to hit back at Trump.
"They didn't have manners or chutzpah or whatever to tell me earlier, so this morning blinded me somewhat," Brooks said, still hearing the news at the same time with everyone else. is shocked by the surprise of. “But what it is now. It is not about what happened at the rally, because the rally speech I gave on that particular topic was almost the same as what I said on January 6.
"We have to put our bad game behind. We lost. You have to go to the next play, and the next play is the 2022, 2024 election."
In a separate statement, Brooks also blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell - who has long opposed his bid - for the canceled endorsement, saying it is "disappointing that, as of 2017, President Trump Let Mitch McConnell manipulate you again."
Brooks was the only candidate in the race who was active in supporting Trump's efforts to reverse the results of the presidential election—an effort he began before certification on January 6, when he spoke at a Trump rally before the Capitol riot. Was.
Congressman says he is "the only proven America First candidate" in the primary.
On Thursday, Brooks will launch his "Fire McConnell Tour," which will include 100 stops around the state, highlighting his position that Republicans need a change of leadership from McConnell.
Earlier this week, Brooks announced his pledge to oppose McConnell as leader, a move widely seen as an attempt to sided with Trump, who has been away from the issue for the past year. is inspired. Britt and Durant declined to weigh in on the question.
Hours after rescinding his endorsement of Brooks, Trump made a follow-up statement that both rubbed salt into Brooks' wound and reiterated his contempt for McConnell.
"Moe committed a mortal sin," Bannon said, referring to Brooks' comments at an August rally about looking ahead to 2020. "That's why his campaign has lost height ever since, and he hasn't gotten it back."
"It's a lesson for everyone," Bannon continued. "Trump can give, and Trump can take."
It is too early to tell whether the loss of support for Trump is the death knell for Brooks' campaign. At a town hall event at the Talladega County Courthouse shortly after Trump's surprise announcement, none of the 20 spectators asked Brooks about Trump. Nor did he inquire at an afternoon town hall event with Jefferson County Republicans, according to the campaign.
Voting in recent months showed support for Brooks, before reports emerged of Trump regretting his support. For months, Brooks' campaign had been running without experienced staff and mentors in strategy, media, and fundraising.
"His campaign was tanking anyway," Shelby said Wednesday after Trump's news. "I think Brooks, so much of his support was Trump support."
Shelby, for whom Britt served as chief of staff, is preparing to transfer $6 million to pro-Brit Super PACs to support his bid.
Club for Growth president David Mackintosh said on Wednesday that the conservative group's Super PAC stands with Brooks' support, calling him "the only principled, pro-growth candidate in the race".
Trump said he would endorse a new one "in the near future", although advisers to the former president say an announcement is unlikely.
Recent polling shows a neck-and-neck contest between Durant and Britt, and Trump has recently met with both candidates. Durant visited Trump on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to people close to the two.
Durant is a retired army pilot who survived a helicopter crash in Somalia and was featured in the film "Black Hawk Down".
During the meeting, they "discussed the Black Hawk Down incident" and according to a person involved in the Durant campaign, Trump said he thought Durant was "a real tough guy".
A Trump spokesman declined to comment on the meeting.
Perry Hooper Jr., one of Trump's closest aides in Alabama, met with Trump at an event in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday. Explaining that he thinks highly of both Durant and Britt, Hopper said his "gut reaction" is that Trump would support Durant, partly given Durant's military experience.
"I know President Trump has some major concerns that Mitch McConnell and Richard Shelby are giving Katie millions of dollars, and that's a concern for Donald Trump," Hooper said. "Trump is worried he might be a lap dog for McConnell because of Shelby. He likes Durant because he's not a politician."
Meanwhile, a person close to Trump said Trump has seen opposition research on Durant — including information on links between Durant-supporting Super PACs and the anti-Trump Lincoln Project — and that the former president "doesn't like it." Huh."
Another Trump adviser noted that the meeting with Durant went well, adding that Trump has been impressed by Britt's fundraising skills and "energy" but still hasn't made up his mind.
Brooks speculated in a radio interview on Wednesday that Trump would support Britt.
"I doubt Donald Trump is going to support Katie Britt, but again with Donald Trump, who knows what he's going to do next," Brooks said with a laugh. “You can even see him endorse all three candidates before the talk is over. In this way, he is able to say that he has won. ,