Maryland GOP Senate candidate and former governor Larry Hogan (R) has distanced himself from former President Trump’s endorsement of him.
“Well, I just said no… I didn’t look for it, I didn’t want to have it and I have no interest in it. It’s not something we’re going to promote, that’s for sure,” Hogan, a regular Trump critic, said in an interview with D.C.-area radio station WTOP when asked if he rejects the endorsement.
Trump said he would “like to see” Hogan “win” the Maryland Senate race when asked if he would support the former Maryland governor’s current candidacy, according to a Fox Business clip. The race in which Hogan faces Democratic candidate Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will decide who will replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
“We have to win the majority. We have to straighten out our country. So I would like to see him win. He’s someone who can win… I know other people have made some strong statements, but I can just say, from my point of view, I’m for the party and the country,” Trump told reporter Aishah Hasnie.
In the WTOP interview, Hogan called the endorsement a “surprise” and highlighted criticism from those close to Trump, including Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Lara Trump, as a factor in the surprise.
“So it was also a surprise because in the previous weeks they were saying exactly the opposite,” Hogan said. “We were being criticized by Trump’s campaign manager and his daughter-in-law, who ran the RNC, saying really bad things about me, and then all of a sudden Donald Trump changed the subject and started saying nice things about me. my.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
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