Trump endorses main opponent against Ohio Republican who voted for impeachment

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“Max Miller is a wonderful person who has done a great job in the White House and will be a fantastic member of Congress,” Trump said in a statement issued by Save America, the former president’s political action committee. “He’s a Navy veteran, a son of Ohio, and a true PATRIOT.”

Miller announced his campaign for Ohio’s 16th District on Friday, writing on Twitter, “I’m running for Congress to defend the people of Northeast Ohio. They voted overwhelmingly for the America First program. But their member of Congress betrayed them when he voted to impeach President Trump. “

Trump did not explicitly mention Gonzalez’s vote to impeach him. “The current representative Anthony Gonzalez should not represent the people of the 16th arrondissement because he does not represent their interests or their hearts. Max Miller has my full and total support!”

Trump has indicated that he wants to shape the future of the party, targeting Republicans he considers insufficiently loyal. Seeking to make his influence felt in 2022, he hopes to prove to critics and supporters that he is the most effective puppeteer in the GOP – a role he will likely remind the party of when he appears at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Sunday.
Gonzalez’s decision to join just nine other House Republicans and all House Democrats in impeaching Trump in January exposed deep anger in his northeastern Ohio district, sparking a localized fight on the future of the Republican Party, which pits the two-term MP against angry voters. to expel any Republican who crosses paths with the former president.

But Gonzalez, who easily won re-election to the solid red seat in November after winning the district for the first time in 2018, remained defiant in the face of criticism, telling local media he did not regret the vote and was ready to go. losing his seat in the face of criticism. decision.

Since he voted for impeachment, he has continued to voice his opposition to Trump. Earlier this month, Gonzalez called Trump’s sworn phone call with Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy, as the U.S. Capitol was under attack on Jan.6, as problematic for the former president.

“I think this is a testament to the state of mind of the former president,” Gonzalez said. “He wasn’t sorry to see his steadfastly loyal vice president or Congress attacked by the crowd he inspired. In fact, it seems he was happy or at least enjoying the scenes which were gruesome for most. Americans across the country. “

Miller, who says on his campaign website that he was a senior adviser to the former president, was identified as a former Trump campaign aide in a 2018 Washington Post article on understaffing, the inexperience and a source of jobs for friends. and family, employing assistants who got their jobs due to work on the Trump campaign despite their questionable track record.

Citing police records, the Post reported that Miller – an office worker – was charged with assault and resisting arrest in 2007 following an altercation with another man, a case which subsequently went on been classified.

“Everyone makes mistakes growing up,” Miller told the Post at the time. “What I was in the past is not who I am now.” CNN had not independently confirmed the Post’s reports.

A then White House official told the Post at the time that Miller’s record serving in the Marine Corps Reserve “speaks volumes about his willingness to serve his country.”

Gonzalez isn’t the only Republican Trump could target by 2022.

CNN reported last month that Trump is focusing his political energy on targeting Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming – the third House Republican, who also voted for his impeachment – and he has pledged to campaign against the governor Georgia Republican Brian Kemp in 2022, who he criticized for not doing enough to challenge his electoral loss in the state.
In another sign of Trump’s impending midterm influence, former Georgia Senator David Perdue announced earlier this week that he would not be launching a 2022 Senate campaign, although he very recently filed documents to this effect. The apparent reversal closely followed his recent visit to Palm Beach, Fla., Where he played golf with Trump, said a person familiar with the Republican of Georgia’s schedule.

CNN’s Dan Merica, Donald Judd, Kate Bennett and Clare Foran contributed to this report.

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