President Donald Trump is warning that Republican lawmakers who do not support him will likely fall short in the November Congressional election.
During a phone interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Trump weighed in on the Republicans’ uphill battle to maintain control of the Senate.
Trump claims those who aren’t “as supportive” of him could be in jeopardy of losing their seats.
“We’re fighting very hard in the Senate. I’ll be honest, the Senate is tough,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. “We have a couple of people that aren’t as supportive of Trump as they should be, and those people are going to lose their elections.”
He continued, “The ones that don’t support, and I’m just talking, take a look … you have a few people that want to be cute, and those people are going to lose their elections,” Trump added. “And that’s a problem for the Senate.”
See Trump’s remarks below:
Over the last couple of months, inter-party division has grown within the Republican Party amid discussions about the next coronavirus relief package.
Trump’s remarks come just one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) admitted that control of the Senate could “swing either way” for the upcoming Congressional election, as previously reported on IJR.
“They are tough challenges,” McConnell admitted. “What I’d tell you is this is a tough fight. It could go either way. We’re optimistic we can hold on.”
“This was always going to be a tough cycle for us,” the senator said, adding that there is “a lot of exposure around the country.”
Despite Trump’s claims about Senate seats being in jeopardy for those who are not as supportive of him, McConnell has reportedly signaled vulnerable Republican lawmakers can “distance” themselves from Trump, according to CNN.
“These vulnerable senators can’t afford to explicitly repudiate Trump,” one senior Republican told CNN. “They just need to show they are independent on issues important in their states.”