Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed a primary challenger to Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, his biggest shot yet at a lawmaker who crossed him during the GOP presidential primary.
“Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA. He turned his back on our incredible movement, and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently, when he gave a warm and ‘loving’ Endorsement – But really, it was too late,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media network.
Good, who leads the far-right House Freedom Caucus, was one of the few members of Congress to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis was once Trump’s best-positioned primary foe, but his campaign struggled to live up to its early expectations. DeSantis and Good later endorsed Trump, who will formally receive the GOP’s presidential nomination in July.
Good will face state Sen. John McGuire in a closely-watched primary on June 18.
“Thank you President Trump for endorsing my campaign for Congress!” McGuire wrote on X in response. “Together we will fight for We the People and Save America. We can do better than Good.”
Before Trump endorsed McGuire, Good had gone to great lengths to appear close to the former president. Good was one of a string of House Republicans who went to New York City to denounce Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial. Good’s campaign website also touts Trump’s 2022 endorsement of him.
Trump isn’t the only top Republican Good has crossed. The two-term lawmaker supported Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s effort to remove then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy from power. McCarthy allies have supported a revenge tour of their own against the eight Republicans who joined with Democrats to force the Californian’s historic ouster.
Even some of Good’s GOP colleagues are supporting McGuire, a rare step that underlines the frustration some Republicans have for Good. Good is also supporting a primary challenger to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas.
Trump is always taking names.
Trump has tried to seem magnanimous at times when discussing DeSantis, who is reportedly trying to help fundraise for the former president’s campaign. But it’s clear Trump is well aware of those who crossed him.
The former president previously lashed out at Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, another conservative Republican who backed DeSantis. But Trump called for a primary challenger to Roy after the filing deadline had passed.
Trump’s most successful revenge tour has been against the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Of those 10, only two remain in the House. Last month, Trump endorsed a primary challenger to one of those two, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington.
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