An enraged President Donald Trump on Thursday night swore to personally thwart Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) reelection prospects after the senator applauded former Defense Secretary James Mattis’ searing essay about Trump’s infamous photo-op.
“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski,” Trump tweeted.
He did not mention Murkowski’s support of Mattis’ statement, only her votes against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation and Trump’s bill that aimed to kill the Affordable Care Act.
“Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!” the President tweeted.
Murkowski, who is up for reelection in 2022, had told reporters earlier on Thursday that she was “really thankful” for Mattis’ essay, in which he torched Trump for having peaceful protesters teargassed to clear a path for his photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The GOP senator described the ex-Trump official’s statement as “true, and honest and necessary and overdue.”
“When I saw General Mattis’ comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up,” she said.
The Alaska lawmaker was evasive when asked if she still supported Trump, saying she was “struggling with it” but that questions about whether or not she’ll vote for him “are distracting at the moment.”
Murkowski’s press office did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment on Trump’s attacks.
