Maryland Republican Senate candidate and former governor Larry Hogan (R) distanced himself from former President Trump’s endorsement.
“Well, I just said I haven’t asked for it, I don’t want it and I’m not interested. We’re not going to push for it, that’s for sure,” Hogan, a known critic of Trump, said in an interview with Washington, D.C.-area radio station WTOP when asked if he would reject the endorsement.
In a video clip shared by Fox Business, Trump said he would like to see Hogan “win” when asked if he would support the Maryland governor in his bid to become U.S. Sen. Hogan is running against Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks, Mayor of Prince George’s County, in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
“We’ve got to get a majority. We’ve got to get our country back on its feet. So I want to see him win. He’s the guy who can win. I know others have made strong statements, but from my standpoint, I’m committed to the party and I’m committed to the country,” Trump told reporter Aisha Hasni.
In an interview with WTOP, Hogan called the endorsement a “surprise” and attributed it to criticism from people close to Trump, including Republican National Committee (RNC) Co-Chair Lara Trump.
“So it was surprising because a few weeks prior to that they had been saying the exact opposite,” Hogan said. “A Trump campaign official who was running the Republican National Convention and his daughter-in-law were saying horrible things about me and we were being grilled, and then all of a sudden Donald Trump turned around and started saying nice things about me.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
