President Trump provided a glimpse of what he might plan to do with all the money he’s been bankrolling in the name of overturning the 2020 election: Primarying Republicans in 2022 that didn’t fully embrace his controversial claims.
Mr. Trump took to Twitter Tuesday to take aim at GOP Senators and single out Sen. John Thune of South Dakota for criticism.
“Right now they would be down 8 seats without my backing them in the last Election,” Mr. Trump said. “RINO John Thune, ’Mitch’s boy’, should just let it play out.”
“South Dakota doesn’t like weakness,” Mr. Trump said. “He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!”
Mr. Trump ran behind a number of down-ticket Republicans in the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump has been aggressively targeting Republicans that have been willing to follow tradition in recognizing President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s victory.
Mr. Trump says the election was rigged and stolen. The charge puts him at odds with court rulings, fact-checkers and an increasing number of Republican elected officials.
Mr. Thune, a member of Republican Senate leadership who voted with Mr. Trump 93% of the time, said this week that his colleagues in the House of Representatives would be better off not going along with a longshot challenge to the 2020 election results.
“In the Senate, it would go down like a shot dog,” Mr. Thune said this week. “I just don’t think that it makes a lot of sense to put everybody through this when you know what the ultimate outcome is going to be.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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