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Donald Trump is backing a primary challenger to Rep. Bob Good of Virginia.
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The former president has targeted lawmakers like Good, who supported him Ron DeSantis about him.
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Good has tried to appear close to Trump in recent weeks.
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed a primary challenger to Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, his closest chance yet against a lawmaker who thwarted him during the Republican Party’s presidential primaries.
“Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR USA. He turned his back on our incredible movement and continually attacked and fought me until recently, when he gave a warm and ‘loving’ endorsement. But actually it was too late ,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media network.
Good, who leads the far-right House Freedom Caucus, was one of the few members of Congress to support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis was once Trump’s best-positioned primary foe, but his campaign struggled to meet initial expectations. DeSantis and Good later endorsed Trump, who will formally receive the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in July.
Good will face state Sen. John McGuire in a closely watched primary on June 18.
“Thank you President Trump for endorsing my campaign for Congress!” McGuire wrote in response to X. “Together we will fight for We the People and Save America. We can do better than the right thing.”
Before Trump endorsed McGuire, Good had gone to great lengths to appear close to the former president. Good was one of a series of House Republicans who went to New York City to denounce Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan. Good’s campaign website also touts Trump’s endorsement of him in 2022.
Trump is not the only top Republican who has crossed the border. The two-term lawmaker supported Florida Rep.’s effort. Matt Gaetz to remove then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy from power. McCarthy allies have backed their own revenge tour against the eight Republicans who joined Democrats to force the Californian’s historic impeachment.
Even some of Good’s Republican colleagues are backing McGuire, a rare move that underlines the frustration some Republicans have with Good. Good is also backing a primary challenger to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas.
Trump is always taking names.
Trump has occasionally tried to appear magnanimous when speaking about DeSantis, who is reportedly trying to raise money for the former president’s campaign. But it is clear that Trump is well aware of those who crucified him.
The former president previously lashed out at Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, another conservative Republican who supported DeSantis. But Trump called for a primary challenger to Roy after the filing deadline passed.
Trump’s most successful revenge tour was against the ten Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to impeach him for inciting the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021. Of those ten, only two remain in the House of Representatives. Last month, Trump endorsed a primary challenger to one of those two, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington.
Read the original article on Business Insider
