With 20 days to go until Tennessee Republican voters select who they want to represent their party on the November ballot, President Donald Trump participated in a tele-town hall on Friday to promote the candidacy of former U.S. ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty.
Trump endorsed Hagerty early in the contest, one of which that has tightened according to polling between him and Nashville orthopedic trauma surgeon Manny Sethi.
Trump insisted Hagerty was the best choice, noting the former ambassador’s loyalty from the 2016 campaign, through the transition and into his presidency.
“Bill Hagerty is somebody I know very well,” Trump said. “He was my ambassador to Japan. He was a fantastic ambassador. I’ll never forget — I went to Japan, he knew every person over there. He knew the businessmen. He could pronounce those names that I had a hard time with. I had a very hard time with some of those names. It was amazing. He was one of the truly great ambassadors that I have ever met. And I’ve met some good ones, and I’ve met some very bad ones, to be honest here. But Bill is so solid, so good, and they still miss him.”
“He said he wanted to run for the Senate from a state that he loves, so I am calling everybody in Tennessee to get out and vote early,” he continued. “You can get out there right now and vote for Ambassador Bill Hagerty for Senate. Early voting starts immediately, and it ends August 1. It is something that is so important. You’ve got a real primary here. The other side is spending a lot of money. But Bill is somebody who will never let you down. He’ll go so far out. He’ll never let you down. I’ve known Bill for a long time. He was one of my earliest supporters. He worked on my campaign in 2016 and my transition after we won. He’s been so great in so many ways.”
Trump emphasized the need for allies in the U.S. Senate to bolster his first-term strides made appointing and confirming conservative federal judges.
“We need to send great conservative voices out there,” Trump said. “One of the things you’ve probably heard that I’ve done, and have gotten a lot of credit for is judges. By the end of the first term, we’ll have almost 300 judges, which I think is a record. It’s got to be pretty close to a record.”
“I will tell you — this is very important with the votes and the Supreme Court, and it is even right now,” he continued. “The Supreme Court justice choice is very important, and I won’t let you down. The next president, hopefully, that is going to be us for another four years because nobody has done what we have done. No other president has done as much and as good as we’ve done in the first four years of a term. And we’ve got possibly two, three or even four Supreme Court justice picks during this term. I want all the help I can get. Bill and other Senators have to get those justices approved, and Bill will be leading the pack.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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