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During the 2022 midterms, Donald Trump threatened to withdraw his endorsement from Nevada Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo because he refused to call the former president “great” during a debate with Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, according to New York Times.
Lombardo said during the October debate that Trump was a “good” president, but chose not to call him “great” at the time. The Democratic-leaning Clark County sheriff was endorsed by Trump in the GOP primary.
After someone sent Trump excerpts of the debate, the former president called Republican National Committee Chairwoman Rona McDaniel that night and suggested she withdraw her endorsement of Lombardo, according to the Times.
With Lombardo in one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in one of the nation’s most swing states, McDaniel asked Trump for an hour to resolve the issue, according to people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Times. .
Top GOP leaders, aware of the state’s competitive Senate and House races on the ballot that year, have long eyed those contests in their bid to regain control of Congress this year.
Immediately after Trump’s call with McDaniel, Lombardo’s campaign released a statement calling Trump a “great” president.
“By all accounts, Donald J. Trump has been a great President and his accomplishments are some of the most important in American history,” he said, touting a number of Trump’s accomplishments in office.
“President Trump has presided over one of the greatest eras in modern American history,” he added.
When Trump came to Nevada to support Lombardo alongside now-defeated GOP Senate candidate Adam Laxalt later that month, the then-governor candidate called the former commander-in-chief “the greatest president” during a rally.
Last week, Lombardo unseated Sisolak from the Governor’s office 48.9%-47.3%, with most precincts reporting.
Many Republicans are grappling with what role Trump should play within the GOP after the party failed to retake the Senate, with control of the House still uncertain days after the election.
Trump is widely expected to launch a 2024 presidential bid in the coming days, but some Republicans are warning that the former president’s vulnerabilities were glaringly apparent based on last Tuesday’s results.
