The Alabama primary left two Republicans standing for the runoff. The GOP Establishment’s choice is Katie Britt. The America First candidate is Mo Brooks, who surprised most by surging from third place to a commanding second-place finish in the two weeks leading up to the primary.
Brooks had previously been endorsed by President Trump, but after an ill-advised statement by Brooks claiming the GOP needs to “move on” from the 2020 stolen election, Trump pulled his endorsement. One can argue that the real reason Trump was advised to pull the endorsement is that Brooks’ poll numbers were in freefall at the time. When Trump endorsed him last August, Brooks was in command at around 40% in the polls. When Trump pulled the endorsement in March, Brooks had fallen to 17%.
Now that it’s down to him and Mitch McConnell’s darling, Brooks is calling on Trump to re-endorse him:
“Hello MAGA nation! This is Mo Brooks & I wanted to say hello by telling my story.
“My Alabama Senate primary is in a couple weeks against an establishment RINO named Katie Britt.
“I had President Trump’s endorsement at the beginning, but then Mitch McConnell spent millions on TV attacking me. At the time, it looked like our campaign was going nowhere, and sadly, President Trump pulled his endorsement.
“But then a funny thing happened: Mitch McConnell quit attack us, our campaign SURGED and we made it into the runoff.
“I think President Trump knew what he was doing. He gave our campaign the kick in the pants we needed. He was like a football coach, grabbing us by the face mask, and getting us in gear. Part of me wonders if he also knew that in pulling his endorsement, he’d bait ol’ Mitch into thinking we couldn’t win and get Mitch to stop attacking us. Whether that was the plan or not, it worked and we made it into the runoff.
“MAGA Nation, join me in asking President Trump to #ReEndorseMo! McConnell is spending 3 million dollars against me in the coming days, but with President Trump’s endorsement, WE CANNOT LOSE.
“I am the MAGA candidate. I am the Trump candidate. I am the only candidate who will fight for the America First agenda including defending our 2nd amendment rights against Mitch and his loyallists attempts to appease the left.
“The runoff is June 21st and I need your help.”
https://twitter.com/MoBrooks/status/1533516230002360323
Whether he really believes Trump was playing 4-D chess or not is questionable, but it does offer Trump an excuse to re-endorse Brooks. I hope he does. It would make sense for his current run of successful endorsements to notch a come-from-behind victory in a U.S. Senate seat. Britt really is a RINO’s RINO, which is why McConnell is so adamant about making her happen.
I’d like to see it as I’ve always liked Brooks as a Congressman. He was also one of the few who adamantly fought to correct the 2020 stolen election, ill-advised comments in March notwithstanding. He would be an ally for Trump if he decides to retake the White House in 2024. The only questionable part of the calculus is whether a Trump endorsement can propel Brooks to a come-from-behind victory.
If a Trump re-endorsement of Mo Brooks works, it would be the ultimate victory to show Trump’s word is more influential than McConnell’s dollars. More importantly, it would show that Ultra MAGA is stronger than the GOP Establishment.
