(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump slammed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Joe O’Dea this week, calling it a “big mistake.”
O’Dea is the underdog Senate contender in Colorado, who is running against Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet and vowed to “actively campaign against” Trump if elected.
DeSantis endorsed O’Dea in a robocall advertisement, in which he can be heard saying, “America needs strong leadership and desperately. That’s why I’m endorsing Joe O’Dea for U.S. Senate.”
“I’ve watched Joe from a distance, and I’m impressed,” the advertisement continues. “Colorado, please vote for Joe O’Dea.”
Trump shared an article about DeSantis’s endorsement on Truth Social and said, “A BIG MISTAKE!”
The former president has ramped up his attacks on O’Dea recently, calling him “stupid” and a “RINO.”
“MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths,” Trump said last week.
O’Dea has returned the favor, saying he would not support Trump if he ran for president again in 2024 and throwing his support behind DeSantis as an alternative potential candidate.
“I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,” O’Dea told CNN recently. “I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now.”
Some Republicans have criticized Trump for attacking O’Dea so publicly, arguing the Republican candidate would still be a much better ally in the Senate than the Democrat Bennet.
“It certainly is not [helpful],” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said last week. “I would hate to see O’Dea lose to Sen. Bennet by a few votes just because Donald Trump urged Republicans not to vote and we came up short of the majority by one senator.
“If [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opposed every Republican nominee who criticized him publicly, we wouldn’t stand a chance,” Cramer continued. “The nation has to be more important than individual personal offenses.”
