“Max Miller is a wonderful person who has done a good job in the White House and will be a fantastic congressman,” Trump said in a statement issued by Save America, the former president’s political action committee. “He’s a marine veteran, an Ohio boy, and a true PATRIOT.”
Miller announced his campaign for Ohio’s 16th District on Friday, writing on Twitter: “I would prefer to stand for Congress for Northeast Ohio. They voted overwhelmingly for the America First agenda. But their Congressman betrayed them when he voted to accuse President Trump. “
Trump did not explicitly mention Gonzalez’s vote to accuse him. “Current Representative Anthony Gonzalez should not represent the people of the 16th District because he does not represent their interest or their heart. Max Miller has my full and total endorsement!”
Trump has indicated he wants to shape the party’s future and target Republicans he sees as insufficiently loyal. Seeking to show his influence on 2022, he hopes to prove to both critics and supporters that he is the most effective puppet player of the GOP – a role he is likely to remind the party of during his appearance on the Conservative political action conference on Sunday.
Gonzalez’s decision to add just nine other House Republicans and all House Democrats to condemn Trump in January found deep anger in his northeastern Ohio district and sparked a localized battle over the future of the Republican Party. , which the two-term congressman eagerly opposes annoying voters. to expel any Republican who crosses the former president.
But Gonzalez, who easily won the solid red seat re-election in November after winning the district for the first time in 2018, remained defiant in the face of criticism, telling local sellers he has no regrets the vote does not and is willing to lose its seat decided.
Ever since he voted for accusation, he has continued to voice his opposition to Trump. Earlier this month, Gonzalez marked Trump’s call with House leader Kevin McCarthy, while the U.S. Capitol was attacked on January 6 as a problem for the former president.
“I think that speaks to the attitude of the former president,” Gonzalez said. “He was not sorry to see his undisputed loyal vice president or Congress attacked by the mob he inspired. It seems he was happy about it or at least enjoyed the scenes that for most Americans across the country was frightening. “
Miller, who says on his campaign website that he was a senior adviser to the former president, was identified as a former Trump campaign aide in a 2018 Washington Post story about the office of understaffed, inexperienced and inexperienced presidential staff. source of work for friends. and family, hired aid workers who, despite their questionable background, got their positions due to the Trump campaign.
Referring to police reports, the Post reported that Miller – an office assistant – was charged in 2007 with assault and resisting arrest following an altercation with another man, a case that was later dismissed.
“Growing up, everyone makes mistakes,” Miller told the Post at the time. “Who I was in the past is not who I am now.” CNN did not independently confirm the Post’s reporting.
A White House official told the Post at the time that Miller’s background in the Marine Corps Reserve “speaks volumes of his willingness to serve his country.”
Gonzalez is not the only Republican Trump can target in 2022.
CNN reported last month that Trump is concentrating political energy on the rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming – the third-ranked Republican of the House, who also voted for his accusation – and he promised to campaign against Georgia Republican Government Brian Kemp in 2022. , which he blamed for not doing enough to challenge his election loss in the state.
In another sign of Trump’s looming influence in the medium term, former Georgia Senator David Perdue announced earlier this week that he would not launch a 2022 Senate campaign, although he had very recently provided documents to do so. do. The apparent turnaround followed on the heels of his recent visit to Palm Beach, Florida, where he played golf with Trump, saying someone is familiar with the Republican from Georgia.
CNN’s Dan Merica, Donald Judd, Kate Bennett and Clare Foran contributed to this report.
.Source
Related
