Donald Trump Withdraws Endorsement for Mo Brooks in Alabama

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he had withdrawn his endorsement for Rep. Mo Brooks in the primary race for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat.

The former president said in a statement Brooks had made a “horrible mistake” by going “woke” and asking voters to put the 2020 election behind them.

“If we forget, the Radical Left Democrats will continue to Cheat and Steal Elections,” Trump argued.

Brooks had a 44 point lead in the primary race, but Trump criticized him for hiring a “Never Trump” campaign staff that encouraged him to stop talking about the 2020 election.

“Very sad but, since he decided to go in another direction, so have I, and I am hereby withdrawing my Endorsement of Mo Brooks for the Senate,” Trump wrote in his statement.

Alabama Republicans will vote on May 24 to choose a successor to replace retiring Sen. Richard Shelby.

Shelby’s former chief of staff Katie Britt is running to succeed her boss as well as Mike Durant a former Army pilot.

A local news poll released Tuesday showed Brooks in third place.

Durant came in first place at 34.6 percent, Katie Britt at 28.4 percent, and Mo Brooks only had 16.1 percent.

Despite an early lead, Brooks was hammered by millions of dollars of ads from his opponents and failed to respond.

Brooks was desperate to keep Trump’s endorsement, running a campaign ad on Monday calling for Republicans to ditch Sen. Mitch McConnell as their Senate leader.

But it was not enough to convince Trump, who announced his decision to release a new endorsement in the primary race soon.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.