President Donald Trump is planning a “revenge tour” across the country, and will soon start vetting candidates to challenge establishment Republicans in the House and Senate, according to Politico.
Noting that President Trump kept a low profile as the Senate conducted its dismally-received impeachment trial, Politico claims that the former President is now beginning the process of vetting primary candidates to run against establishment Republicans he feels do not represent or have betrayed the America First movement be champions.
“We are in the process of putting together a more formal schedule for candidates who want to come get his endorsement,” one senior advisor told the left wing news outlet. “The planning for Trump’s coming revenge tour comes as other top Republicans try to cajole him into working with the party’s apparatus ahead of next year’s midterm elections, rather than recruiting rival candidates whose bids could complicate primaries and cost the GOP critical seats,” Politico explained.
“Others in Trump’s orbit have encouraged him to wait and see if Republicans who’ve crossed him and are up for reelection next fall,” the website notes, “attempt a peace offering before he launches a serious search for possible primary challengers.”
President Trump previously pledged to travel to Georgia and campaign against establishment Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who he also said he regrets endorsing. Former Rep. Doug Collins is widely expected to run against Kemp and receive President Trump’s endorsement.
Politico also notes that President Trump’s endorsement has already proven effective. It is widely credited with pushing Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward over the top in her recent reelection bid for the party leadership position. The former President has also endorsed former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ bid to become the next governor of Arkansas.
President Trump’s move to begin vetting primary candidates to run against the establishment also fulfills a promise he made in a scathing statement about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who he called a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack” who will lead Republicans into a permanent minority if left unchecked.
In the statement, President Trump promised “Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership.”
It is also possible that President Trump is building a coalition of future congressmen who will actually back his America First agenda, unlike Fox News executive and former House Speaker Paul Ryan and McConnell, who have been widely credited with stymieing the America First agenda throughout the Trump administration’s first term in office. In his recent interview with Newsmax TV’s Greg Kelly, President Trump did not rule out a 2024 run for president, but also would not commit to running for a second term.
