Trump wants Elise Stefanik to replace Liz Cheney -- but his base doesn't like her: report

Donald Trump's endorsement of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to replace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as the chair of the GOP Conference has not been enough to convince his base.

"Donald Trump has called Elise Stefanik 'a new Republican star,' a 'smart communicator' and — perhaps his highest praise — 'tough.' But the MAGA faithful aren't so sure," Politico reported Thursday. "Within minutes of Trump's endorsement of the New York congresswoman for GOP conference chair on Wednesday, top MAGA voices erupted in anger — a rare break with the former president. The invective aimed at Stefanik, who was perceived to be insufficiently conservative and a relative newcomer to the Trump cause, continued to zoom through the MAGA-sphere on Thursday."

"Others, like pundits Ann Coulter and Raheem Kassam, editor in chief of the populist online outlet National Pulse, went on a retweeting spree, highlighting writer after writer, tweet after tweet, questioning Stefanik's commitment to the Trump movement's core tenets, particularly on immigration," Politico noted. "Popular MAGA news and opinion sites were less sparing, with Revolver calling her a 'neocon establishment twit,' and Big League Politics, founded by Breitbart alumni, slamming her for only getting on the Trump defense train in 2019 and characterizing her as a "'wolf in sheep's clothing.'"

"Several MAGA news sites cited Stefanik's voting record, where she backed the then-president's position only 78 percent of the time, making Cheney's record of 93 percent look slavishly loyal in comparison. Stefanik compiled that record despite representing a comfortably Republican district that Trump won easily in 2020," Politico reported.