The Story:
Former President Donald Trump told the Washington Examiner last week that he has it under consideration to withdraw his endorsement of Mo Brooks, the quite conservative Congressman for Alabama’s fifth district who is now running for a seat in the Senate. Trump appears still to be unhappy that Brooks, months ago, urged a Republican crowd to “look forward,” not back, and to put behind them disputes over alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Background:
Senator Richard Shelby (R – Ala) is not running for reelection. Brooks announced his candidacy for that seat in March 2021, and the former President endorsed him the following month, writing that, “Few Republicans have as much COURAGE and FIGHT as Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks.”
It was at a rally in August of last year that Brooks made the comment about “looking forward” at which Trump has taken umbrage.
The Thing to Know:
The first-round primary between Mo Brooks and the other Republican candidates is scheduled for May 24. If none of the candidates wins more than 50% of the vote, there will be a run-0off between the top two. The other candidates include Michael Durant, Jack Schafer, and Katie Britt. In the recent polling, Brooks has fallen behind both Durant and Britt. Some people contend that the reason Trump is considering a dis-endorsements is simply that he doesn’t want to be associated with a loser. If Brooks doesn’t even make it to the run-off stage of the primary, then Trump’s reputation as a Kingmaker, Trump-loving Alabama, will be dented.
