OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Donald Trump has made a stunning new political endorsement that is raising some eyebrows.
The former president on Wednesday announced his backing for a Democratic impeachment manager as well as a Republican who voted to impeach him following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, Fox News reports.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that he “Strongly Endorse[d]” impeachment manager Dan Goldman and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.
“Lawyer Dan Goldman is running for Congress, NY-10, and it is my great honor to Strongly Endorse him,” Trump posted on Wednesday. Fox News added: “Goldman, who is running to represent a district that includes part of Manhattan and Brooklyn, represented Democrats in the first impeachment trial of Trump.”
“I do this not because of the fact that he headed up the Impeachment Committee and lost, but because he was honorable, fair, and highly intelligent. While it was my honor to beat him, and beat him badly, Dan Goldman has a wonderful future ahead,” Trump stated.
Continuing, Trump wrote: “He will be very compassionate and compromising to those within the Republican Party, and will do everything possible to make sure they have a fair chance at winning against the Radical Left Democrats, who he knows are destroying our Country. I would like to thank Dan for fighting so hard for America, and for working so tirelessly to stop “Trump.” He was not easy to beat, but winning against him made me realize just how very talented I am!”
Trump then turned his attention to Maloney.
“A vote for Carolyn Maloney in NY-12 is a vote for the future! She is a kind and wonderful person, who has always said terrific things about me, and will support me no matter what I do, just as I supported her very early on. She begged for a check with no quid pro quo, and I gave it to her. In fact, I gave her many,” he wrote.
“On the other hand, Jerry Nadler is likewise a hard driving man of the people, whose energy and attention to detail is unlike anyone else in Congress. He is high energy, sharp, quick-witted, and bright. You can’t go wrong with either, but Carolyn Maloney is the better man. She will lead our Country into a very GREEN and prosperous future. Carolyn has my Complete and Total Endorsement, she will never let our Conservative Movement down!” he added.
Has the former president really backed these candidates?
No.
According to his people, the endorsements were made in jest, with a spokesperson telling Fox News that the Truth Social posts “speak for themselves.”
Maloney, the network added, did take donations from Trump in the 1990s and 2000s and refused to return them after Trump was elected president. “Those decades-old donations were made and spent at the time to re-elect Democrats, as intended,” she said at the time, according to Fox News.
New York’s congressional primaries are scheduled for Aug. 23.
As for Maloney, she made headlines again recently with remarks she made concerning her thoughts about President Joe Biden’s political future.
Believing at first that she was “off the record,” Maloney (D-N.Y.)., in an interview with The New York Times editorial board, said she did not believe Biden will run again in 2024.
“Off the record, he’s not running again,” Maloney said.
Jyoti Thottam, a member of the editorial board, informed Maloney that no, she was on the record.
“On the record? No, he should not run again,” Maloney said.
The Times published the entire interview under the journalistic standard that both the interviewer and interviewee must agree that comment or comments are “off the record.”
Earlier this month, Maloney said during an NY1 three-way debate for New York’s 12th Congressional District against Rep. Jerrold Nadler and attorney Suraj Patel of Biden: “I don’t believe he’s running for re-election,” according to the New York Post.
The question was then put to Nadler, “Should President Biden run again in 2024?” And while he was less direct, he also would not commit to backing Biden, the Democratic Party’s titular leader.
“It’s too early to say,” Nadler responded. “It doesn’t serve the purposes of the Democratic Party to deal with that until after the midterms.”
The following day, Maloney walked back her remarks to a degree but was just as adamant about her prediction.
