Trump rips ‘foolish’ GOP candidate after Dems flip Santos’ House seat
Former President Donald Trump jumped into the fray this week after former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi won a closely watched special election for a vacant House seat once held by former Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the chamber in December.
Trump slammed Republican candidate Mazi Pilip after she lost to Suozzi, claiming it was because she did not endorse him.
Meanwhile, Trump and his GOP primary rival Nikki Haley have their eyes on the next major contest on the 2024 Republican nominating calendar — Haley’s home state of South Carolina.
Here’s a snapshot of where the battle to lead the Republican Party stands.
Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi won the New York special election against Republican county lawmaker Mazi Pilip. Suozzi, speaking at his victory celebration, emphasized that ‘despite all the attacks and despite all the lies about Tom Suozzi and the squad, about Tom Suozzi being the godfather of the migrant crisis, about Sanctuary Suozzi, despite the dirty tricks, despite the vaunted Nassau County Republican machine, we won.’
Former President Trump blasted Pilip after she lost the special election to Suozzi. In a late night Truth Social post, Trump called Pilip a ‘foolish woman’ and claimed she lost because she did not endorse him.
‘Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat? I have an almost 99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries, and a very good number in the General Elections, as well, but just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America,’ Trump wrote.
Trump announced his recommendations for changes within the Republican National Committee, proposing leadership positions for North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley, daughter-in-law Lara Trump and campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita.
Trump officially announced that he believes Whatley, who currently serves as the national party committee’s general counsel, should be the RNC’s next leader, and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump should run as co-chair of the RNC. He’d also like to see veteran Republican strategist LaCivita, who’s a top adviser in Trump’s 2024 campaign, as the committee’s chief operating officer.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy’s campaign is dropping six-figures to promote his coveted Senate endorsement from Trump with a new ad buy across the Big Sky State.
Trump announced last week he was endorsing Sheehy in the crucial Montana Senate race to unseat Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. The announcement came just hours after Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., also announced his candidacy for the primary race.
A large majority of Americans believe both President Biden and former President Trump are too old to serve another term in the White House. Eighty-six percent of Americans think Biden, 81, is too old to serve another term as president, while 62% think the same of Trump, 77, according to the results of a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.
‘Who knows what she really stands for? She’s George Santos 2.0.’
— Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, criticized his opponent, Republican county lawmaker Mazi Pilip, on the eve of his special election victory for Santos’ New York seat.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
