'Fuming' Trump threatened to pull endorsement in key race because candidate didn't call him a 'great' president

According to a deep dive into the chaos, backbiting and infighting political leading up to the midterms election -- which was a major disappointment for conservatives -- the New York Times is reporting that an angry Donald Trump made a late-night call weeks before the election and threatened Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel.

His problem? One of the key candidates he endorsed in an important battleground state refused to call him a "great president" during a debate earlier that evening.

According to the Times' report, the former president called the GOP chair at midnight on a Sunday evening to complain about Joe Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County, who was running for governor.

"Someone had sent the former president clips of that evening’s debate in the Nevada governor’s race. The Trump-endorsed Republican nominee, Joe Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County, had declined to call Mr. Trump a 'great' president and had backed off Mr. Trump’s stolen-election lie," the report states. "Mr. Trump fumed about withdrawing his endorsement, threatening to throw into chaos one of the nation’s most consequential swing states, a place with three competitive House races and a tossup Senate seat. Ms. McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, pleaded with the former president. She asked him for one hour to fix the situation."

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The report adds that Trump's threat seemed to have worked.

"Mr. Lombardo soon issued a statement calling Mr. Trump a 'great president,'" the report states before adding. "Thecrisis was averted. The next week, when Mr. Trump held a Nevada rally, Mr. Lombardo joined the chorus singing his praises onstage."

At that rally, Lombardo went even further exhorting the crowd, "The greatest president, right?”

Lombardo did win the Nevada governor's race with his election confirmed on Friday night.

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