Former President Donald Trump knows that when he makes an endorsement, he splits his supporters down the middle – and he knows that in the hotly contested race for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, his supporters are extremely divided over the two Republican candidates. That probably explains why, earlier this week, the former president endorsed both candidates – Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh.
Writing on his Truth Social platform ahead of the Tuesday primary, Trump refrained from taking a side and offered his thoughts at late as possible into the race as he could. In the post, he suggested that both candidates would be “spectacular” legislators for the republican Party, and that he offers his trademark “Complete and Total Endorsement” for both men.
“THEY WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Trump promised.
Hamadeh has gained a substantial following online for echoing Trump’s populist conservative policy, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his critics.
Conservative commentator and author Ryan Girdusky has repeatedly criticized Hamadeh for not being completely honest about his own background, accusing him of being an “anchor baby’ whose parents were “ordered to self deport back to Syria.” Girdusky also noted that Hamadeh once supported the 2013 Schumer amnesty plans, supported birthright citizenship, and praised controversial conservative commentator Bill Kristol.
This isn’t the first time that Trump has endorsed two candidates, by the way. As noted by MSNBC, Trump actually endorsed two candidates in a Missouri Senate primary, in an effort to avoid splitting his base and losing support at such a crucial point in the campaign.
It’s worth pointing out, though, that Trump’s absent full endorsement of Blake Masters stands at odds with his embrace of J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential pick. Both Vance and Masters are proteges of billionaire tech mogul Peter Thiel, who is widely believed to have been instrumental in Team Trump picking Vance as his running mate this time around.
It should come as no surprise, of course, that fellow Thiel protégé Vance offered his own personal endorsement of Masters in the race.
Could it be that Trump is trying to throw off the scent of being influenced by a potential mega donor…or could he be unhappy with his VP pick already? It’s hard to say!
