First appeared on FOX: In former President Trump’s world, a fierce battle is brewing over who to support in Nevada’s hotly contested Republican Senate primary., It has been gaining attention in recent months.
Accusations of “disloyalty” have taken center stage in the fight, with multiple sources close to Trump and his campaign telling Fox News Digital the effort to destabilize Trump comes as he is suddenly considering endorsing either Army veteran Sam Brown or former U.S. ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
A key group within the Trump campaign that supports Gunter for the Republican nomination to face off against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has sought to highlight Brown’s hesitation to endorse Trump in the early stages of the Republican presidential race, even as she made her move just days before the Iowa caucuses in January, when Trump’s victory was all but certain.
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From left: Dr. Jeffrey Gunter, dermatologist and former U.S. ambassador to Iceland, former President Trump, and former U.S. Army Captain Sam Brown. (Department of State/Getty Images/Sam Brown, NV)
Another group of Trump associates who support Brown disputed that notion, saying the Gunter faction is “lying” about Brown’s “disloyalty” and telling Fox that Brown will “probably” endorse him at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday ahead of the primary.
“Sam Brown is not seen as a staunch fighter for America First,” a source close to Trump’s family and campaign told Fox. “He is not seen as a staunch ally of President Trump. That’s something I’ve heard many times. I wouldn’t say there’s any intense hatred towards him, but he’s not seen as a strong fighter for America First.”
“The president has issued endorsements in all of these elections but not this one, so it’s not that hard to read between the lines here,” the source said, adding that the timing of Brown’s endorsement of Trump and Interview with Punchbowl News The document was made public the day after Trump was indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, last August, and Brown declined to say whether he was “comfortable” with running alongside the former president for the Republican nomination.
The Nevada primary is the only battleground Senate race in which the National Republican Senatorial Committee has intervened, backing Brown, but Trump has so far refused to endorse a candidate. He supported Tim Sheehy of Montana, Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Mike Rogers of Michigan before their respective primaries.
President Trump endorsed Nevada Republican congressional candidate John Lee on Monday. The day after he Videos about the Truth Society He urged Nevadans to vote next week but did not mention Brown or Gunter.
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Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) waits to speak at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Brightline West Las Vegas station on April 22, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The reason, according to the source, is two-fold: Trump is unwilling to take on the national Republican establishment, and backing an NRSC-backed candidate would “undermine the message to his base” that he is fighting to bring in “loyal America First warriors.”
“That’s probably the only thing that’s holding Sam together. He’s run and lost multiple times, has little energy or enthusiasm and barely engages with the media. He might tweet the occasional cliched tweet or give an interview, but he’s not on the front lines fighting for the president day in and day out.”
Another source close to Trump acknowledged that Brown’s support from the NRSC – known as “Mitch McConnell money” – gave him the “power” to win Trump’s backing, but argued the real issue was whether the Republican Party was ready “to nominate someone who is not going to support the president”.
“He’s disrespected Trump in the past and that’s the sticking point Nevadans are trying to figure out right now,” the source said. “I don’t want a Mitt Romney in the United States Senate. I need a candidate who will win and represent the people of Nevada and the Republican movement, and I’m not sure if that’s Sam Brown.”
Both sources said they expected Trump to remain neutral in the race and refrain from making any endorsements before the primaries, but that the former president’s unpredictable behavior could lead to a last-minute decision.
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Former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Dr. Jeff Gunter speaks to Roll Call magazine on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2024, at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“If he were to endorse, I think he would endorse Jeff. At this point, the NRSC has been really pushing him to endorse Sam, but he hasn’t, and there’s a reason for that,” one of them said.
A source loyal to Brown who said he recently spoke with President Trump offered a different perspective, telling Fox the Gunter source’s assertion was “simply not accurate.”
“[Trump] “President Trump thought Gunter was a weirdo and wouldn’t have been much help as an ambassador,” the source said, adding that there’s nothing unusual about why Trump still doesn’t support Brown.
“He’s not going to do these things so quickly unless he has a long-standing relationship with them. That has never been taken into consideration in all of the conversations, especially considering Sam was literally Donald Trump’s top door-to-door canvasser during the 2016 election and was the original grassroots MAGA movement. It’s something that’s being pushed by people who don’t want him to do that,” they added.
The source predicted with a “very high degree of confidence” that Trump would ultimately endorse Brown ahead of Tuesday’s primary, and said Sunday’s Las Vegas rally would be the “logical” place for the endorsement, but if not, it would come shortly after.
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Nevada Republican Senate candidate and former Army Capt. Sam Brown; (Sam Brown, Nevada)
Another source, who said he spoke with Trump “three or four times” about the Nevada election, told Fox that Trump had a “productive” meeting with Brown during a visit to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year and ultimately believed he would win the election.
The sources also pointed to poor polling so far on the election that suggests Brown will win the primary in a landslide, that he endorsed Trump before launching his second Senate campaign and that he has openly supported the former president since announcing his endorsement in January.
“California Democrat Jeff Gunter is a con man who has paid millions of dollars from his campaign coffers to himself and his consultants. Gunter lied about how much of his own money he was spending on his campaign, and now he’s cut his ad spending. Voters can’t trust California Democrat Jeff Gunter,” NRSC communications director Mike Berg told Fox, referring to Gunter’s ad spending trends, which appear to be cutting back on what he initially said he would spend statewide.
When pressed about the spending changes, Gunter’s campaign pushed back, telling Fox it was not cutting spending but instead shifting to other sources of advertising, including digital and Spanish-language advertising, and adding, citing Gunter’s Federal Election Commission filings, that $3 million has already been spent and that “it’s not up for debate.”
“The NRSC has demonstrated that it cannot campaign skillfully or clearly on America First,” a source close to the Gunter campaign told Fox.
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Former President Trump attends the UFC 302 event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 1, 2024. (Jeff Botali/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I supported President Trump in 2016 and went door-to-door for him in 2020. I have always believed in his vision for America and I support him today. I look forward to working with President Trump to win Nevada in November and would be an honor to have his endorsement,” Brown told Fox.
Fox has also reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Meanwhile, Nevada Democrats have had their own fun using President Trump’s lack of support for Brown to attack him, including in multiple posts pointing out that Trump never mentioned Brown in his video urging Nevadans to vote.
“After panhandling at Mar-a-Lago, calling Trump a personal inspiration and touting his MAGA credentials on a far-right media tour, it is deeply embarrassing that Sam Brown has yet to get the endorsement he so desperately seeks from Donald Trump,” Nevada Democratic Party spokesperson Katherine Kurtz told Fox.
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“Sam Brown continues to try desperately to curry favor with Donald Trump, while at the same time proving to voters that he will always put partisan politics above what’s right for Nevadans.”
Brown and Gunter face a crowded primary field that also includes former state Rep. Jim Marchant and former Air Force pilot Tony Grady. The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face off against Rosen in November’s general election.
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