Trump claims he told scandal-hit Florida Rep. Cory Mills to get out of race before voters dumped him
WASHINGTON — President Trump distanced himself Wednesday from under-fire Rep.Cory Mills following his primary loss to former broadcast journalist Ryan Elijah.Trump — who backed Mills (R-Fla.) in February and never rescinded the endorsement even as the House Ethics Committee began looking into allegations of domestic assault, stolen valor and financial misconduct — claimed on Truth Social that “I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen.
He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”“We now have a great candidate, Ryan Elijah, running in his place! Ryan stands for EVERYTHING MAGA, and is respected by ALL,” Trump added.“He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”A spokesperson for Mills did not return a request for comment.“It felt like a people’s victory to us because of all the people that had backed us, and it was just very rewarding,” Elijah told The Post Wednesday, noting that he got a congratulatory text from Trump.“I talked to a lot of voters who just felt that they were not being represented,” added the former Fox Orlando host.
“They wanted another choice given the run of ethics violations we’ve seen on both sides in Congress.“And I think the message that was sent last night is that the American people are tired of it.”Mills was one of three Trump-endorsed candidates to lose their primaries Tuesday, along with Catalina Lauf in Florida’s 19th Congressional District and Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Megan Degenfelder.Despite those setbacks, the president still boasts a 96% success rate, with 313 of his 330 picks winning their primary elections so far this year, according to Ballotpedia.Elijah was backed by Mills’ House GOP colleagues Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Haridopolos, while popular outgoing Gov.Ron DeSantis made clear last week that “I have not endorsed Cory Mills and I do not support Cory Mills.”“It was imperative for us to keep the majority...