Former President Donald Trump surprised a lot of people on Saturday by giving Dr. Mehmet Oz his endorsement for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat up later this year.
The reaction was mixed, but some conservatives that identify as Trump supporters questioned the decision to endorse Oz over Dave McCormick.
The move did not go unnoticed by U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and his U.S. Senate campaign.
Last month, Trump rescinded his endorsement of Brooks for Alabama's U.S. Senate seat up this fall. At the time, Trump said a new endorsement would be coming "in the near future".
In a post to his campaign Twitter account, Brooks attributed the decision to Trump "surrounding himself by staff" who were on U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) payroll, adding that "they played him".
This is happening because Trump’s surrounded himself by staff who are on McConnell’s payroll & hostile to the MAGA agenda. Everybody telling Trump who to endorse in primaries works for The Swamp.
— Mo Brooks (@MoBrooks) April 10, 2022
They played him. Again. https://t.co/SoD656HT0V
On Sunday, 1819 News reached out to the Brooks campaign to elaborate on the charge leveled at Trump and his staff.
Campaign spokesman Will Hampson reiterated the connection to McConnell and suggested the endorsement to Brooks' opponent, former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt, could be on the way.
"None of this is surprising," Hampson said to 1819 News. "Team McConnell has gotten very good at pulling strings in Trump world to manipulate Trump's endorsements. Don't be surprised if the McConnell mafia gets Trump to endorse Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Katie Britt in Alabama—just like when McConnell got Trump to endorse Luther Strange in 2017, and ultimately gave us Doug Jones."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
