Earlier this week, Donald Trump took the unusual step of rescinding his endorsement of Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Mo Brooks. According to Trump, Brooks “made a horrible mistake recently when he went ‘woke’ and stated, referring to the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, ‘Put that behind you, put that behind you,’ despite the fact that the Election was rife with fraud and irregularities.”
“If we forget, the Radical Left Democrats will continue to Cheat and Steal Elections. Just look at what is happening in Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and elsewhere, but tremendous progress has been made that will help us in 2022 and 2024,” Trump continued. “The 2020 Election was rigged, and we can’t let them get away with it.”
Trump claimed that Mo Brooks squandered his 44-point lead by listening to his new campaign advisors to “stop talking about the 2020 Election.” Brooks has since fallen to third place in the Republican primary.
Related: Trump Rescinds Endorsement of Alabama Senate Candidate Mo Brooks
“When I heard his statement, I said, ‘Mo, you just blew the Election, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ Very sad but, since he decided to go in another direction, so have I, and I am hereby withdrawing my Endorsement of Mo Brooks for the Senate.”
“Election Fraud must be captured and stopped,” Trump said, “or we won’t have a Country anymore. I will be making a new Endorsement in the near future!”
But, as PJM’s Rick Moran noted, “In truth, Trump was likely concerned that a loss by Brooks in the primary would be detrimental to the Trump brand and damage his reputation as a kingmaker.”
For sure, this theory has merit. Trump certainly enjoys his status as a Republican kingmaker, and Mo Brooks is no longer a shoo-in. So, it wouldn’t be unlike Trump to rescind his endorsement to protect his brand. But whatever his true motivation, Trump’s public explanation is what matters, and the message he sends to Republicans nationwide is that unless you toe the Trump line on the 2020 election, you will get no love from him.
Brooks noted in his own statement that he told Trump that January 6, 2021, was the “final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit” the rescinding of the 2020 elections and calling for a new special election for the presidency, which Trump wanted. Brooks said he explained this to him, “knowing full well that it might cause President Trump to rescind his endorsement.”
I believe as much as Trump that there was fraud in the 2020 election. But, I also agree with Brooks that we have to look forward, not backward. That doesn’t mean pretending the 2020 election was on the level; it means identifying the problems and fixing them so all Americans can have faith in the integrity of future elections.
Brooks clearly wants to make sure future elections are secure. Earlier this year, he co-sponsored an election integrity bill that aims to prevent non-citizens from voting in our elections.
Moving on from the 2020 election doesn’t mean abandoning election integrity. Republicans need to be able to talk about election integrity without dwelling on the 2020 election. There is bipartisan support for true election integrity. Still, if we’re constantly linking the issue to the 2020 election, we risk politicizing the issue to the point where we no longer have consensus.
Trump only connects the issue of election integrity with the 2020 election. But we’re way past the point of proving he won that election or reversing the result, so we need to focus on identifying the problems and fixing them for the future.
