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With two words, Donald Trump launched a wild Monday fight that Republican leaders hoped to avoid: “sometime today!” the former president wrote to Truth Social at 10:31 am, declaring his plans to endorse Missouri’s US Senate primary.
Trump had not yet decided which candidate to support when he released those words, according to interviews with numerous officials familiar with the ensuing chaos. Thus began an eight-hour deadline to curry favor with Trump before primary day, a move that, in the minds of some Republicans, could have undermined the GOP’s hopes of taking control of the Senate this fall .
Trump began the day by leaning toward the endorsement of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, according to people familiar with his thinking, allaying concerns from some senators, advisers and donors who had spent weeks warning him that it could be a catastrophic mistake.
Soon Trump’s phone was ringing with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, offering a poll to try to back him. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel showed up at a previously scheduled meeting at her office to make the same case, confronting her daughter-in-law-to-be, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who had been pressing Trump for an endorsement throughout the weekend for Greitens. Dozens more officials, donors and politicians, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), weighed in against Greitens by phone. Two prominent donors close to Trump, Bernie Marcus and Dick Uihlein, were Greitens’ top supporters.
Ultimately, Trump found a way out by offering his “endorsement” to no one in particular, following the suggestion of a close adviser and taking advantage of the fact that two of the leading candidates in the race — Greitens and Missouri’s attorney general — Eric Schmitt. – had the same first name. Trump immediately embraced the idea, after being asked if their names were spelled the same and receiving “over 50 calls and meetings” about it, an aide said.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, in this case, to make up their own minds,” he wrote at 6:13 p.m., ending the suspense. “Therefore, I am proud to announce that ERIC has my full and complete endorsement!”
When the Missouri Senate primary race was called Tuesday night by Schmitt, Trump might be able to claim a partial victory, but only after sparking 36 hours of Republican chaos, along with widespread derision from Democrats.
Eighteen months after leaving the White House, Trump was right where he liked to be: at the center of the action with the attention of the entire political universe, although this time it was far from clear that he had a winning position.
The episode reveals a former president surrounded by advisers and hangers-on who often have dueling loyalties between him and other candidates they work for, while also illustrating Trump’s uncertainty about a decision that risks showing he supports a losing cause.
This account of Trump’s latest attempt to intervene, however tentatively, in Missouri’s Senate race is based on interviews with 14 advisers, lawmakers and other close allies, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity anonymity to describe the behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
Greitens had resigned from his previous position following allegations that he blindfolded, tied up and photographed his mistress. He was later accused by his ex-wife of beating her and physically abusing their children. Despite his denials of the claims against him, party leaders have widely seen him as a liability for the party in the general election.
Schmitt, on the other hand, didn’t fully buy into Trump’s baseless 2020 election denials and radical stance on the “Make America Great Again” movement, while raising Trump’s concerns that he would work to support the leader of the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a Trump foe, though Schmitt had tried to distance himself.
Several Trump advisers eventually praised the “ERIC” endorsements as a gleeful trolling of anyone who might have expected a more serious outcome, especially those in the news. A Trump adviser explained that the former president was “having fun, creating chaos.”
“It was definitely the most Trump-ian move possible,” said Andy Surabian, a former White House official who works with Donald Trump Jr. “Not only was it a politically astute move that basically made everyone happy in the end, but it was a fun, laughing troll to the media, who had been waiting on pins and needles for him to endorse it.”
But for many of those involved in the infighting, the battle over Trump’s decision was anything but fun and showed weakness and uncertainty. “Bananas,” was the description of one officer involved. Once again, Trump’s top Republican officials and advisers had succeeded in partially blocking him from actions they said would harm both him and the party.
“It was,” another Trump adviser said, “a bit of a disaster averted.”
The immediate result was even more confusion in Missouri. Schmitt immediately declared that he had earned the win. Greitens simultaneously argued that the endorsement was for him, noting that another part of Trump’s missive had said Missouri needed “a MAGA champion and a true warrior.”
“I’m a Navy SEAL. Eric Schmitt, he’s a career politician,” Greitens reasoned in a video to supporters he recorded at an aircraft hangar in St. Louis between events.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), a third-place candidate in the race, who had faded in the polls after Trump announced he would not receive his endorsement, guessed a different meaning.
“Congratulations to Eric McElroy. He’s having a great night,” he said in a statement, referring to another little-known candidate with the coveted name also on the ballot, identified by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a comedian from Tunas, Missouri.
Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), the political auctioneer running in the same race, would not be outdone. He falsely claimed on Twitter that the endorsement was for him, because his name appeared between Schmitt and Greitens on the ballot.
“Just ran #Trump’s #MOSen statement through my Covfefe filter and what he meant was ‘Don’t vote wrong – Vote long and don’t be stupid – Vote for Billy,'” Long joked, referring to a long time ago Trump’s errant tweet during his presidency.
Missouri Republicans read the no-endorsement as a likely wash, denying Greitens the boost he might have received had Trump also settled on a last name.
“With it coming so late, after 5 p.m. the night before, and voters being confused, it probably helps Eric Schmitt win,” said James Harris, a Republican unaffiliated with the race who noted the damage that the recent attacks on Greitens have inflicted. “You’ve had five weeks of broadcasting across the state, texting, mailing, talking about the monster that is Eric Greitens.”
Before the start of the week, Trump had endorsed in every major state race this election cycle. It was widely seen how he wanted to intervene in Missouri’s career. At the same time, he was aware of concerns about Greitens, a frequent visitor to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
“They say he’s wild,” Trump had repeatedly told friends and advisers.
Of all the brutal GOP primaries this cycle, Missouri’s Senate race had been one of the fiercest, with $35 million spent in the GOP primary, including more than $8 million in attacks on Greitens by from outside groups, most of which occurred in recent months. , according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Trump’s Monday afternoon in Bedminster, N.J., according to people with knowledge of what he inspired, was “crazy even by the usual standards,” in the words of a longtime aide.
Key figures included senators, donors, top operatives and the leader of the Republican Party.
During a meeting there Monday, McDaniel discussed a poll with Trump that suggested Greitens would likely lose, as his numbers had dipped over the summer, and argued he should stay out of the race. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R.C.) had also made it clear to Trump that she opposed Greitens, according to a person involved in the talks. Others who lobbied against approval include Pam Bondi, a longtime Trump adviser. Some of the advisers argued that Greitens would likely lose the seat if he became the nominee, and Trump would then be blamed for Republicans losing the Senate.
Trump had information on his desk that was positive about Schmitt, including a number of nice things Schmitt had said about him, and polls showing Schmitt would win, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
In the afternoon, Trump called Hawley, according to people familiar with the call, who described a poll showing Greitens trailing. Trump soon called Guilfoyle, Greitens’ biggest supporter, into the courtroom. He perked up, arguing aggressively for Trump to back Greitens.
Guilfoyle said that by not endorsing Greitens, Trump was going against his own base, people familiar with the conversation said. Boris Epshteyn, an adviser to both Trump and the Greitens campaign, also weighed in on behalf of Greitens. He has recently taken on a larger role in Trump’s orbit, sometimes speaking with the former president several times a day. During at least one point in the conversation, according to people briefed on the matter, Trump was annoyed that Guilfoyle was pushing him so relentlessly about the endorsement.
Greitens’ team had argued that Schmitt was close to the McConnell wing of the party, though Schmitt had said he did not “endorse” McConnell in his continued effort to hold onto the Senate leadership. They noted that Karl Rove, another Trump adversary, was opposed to Greitens and that Jeff Roe, who had run against several Trump-endorsed Senate candidates, was working to…