Trump teases endorsement of Eric Greitens — while dissing Josh Hawley's Missouri candidate

Disgraced Missouri ex-Governor Eric Greitens was described as “smart” and “tough” by Donald Trump Friday night as the former guy stopped just short of making his coveted endorsement in the state’s heated U.S. Senate primary.

Trump praised Greitens in an interview on right-wing OAN. But Trump acknowledged the widely held view that Democrats would prefer Greitens as their November opponent for the U.S. Senate being vacated this year by retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, the Missouri Independent reported.

“He’s the one the Democrats legitimately want to run against,” Trump said, before later adding: “Eric is tough and he’s smart. A little controversial, but I’ve endorsed controversial people before. So we’ll see what happens.”

Greitens is quite a bit more than “a little controversial,” having been forced to resign as governor in 2018 amid sex and campaign-finance scandals. In March he was accused by his ex-wife Sheena Chestnut Greitens of having abused both her and their young son.

Trump’s praise of Greitens came after a stunning post on his Truth Social site in which he ruled out U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler despite her previous support of him in Congress. Hartzler voted against both of Trump’s impeachments, supported Big Lie lawsuits and opposed the certification of President Joe Biden.

Hartzler had the strong endorsement of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who has appeared in her campaign ads. She has also been endorsed by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Deb Fischer, R-Neb. and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa and former Sen. Christopher S. Bond, a dean of Missouri Republican politics who served two terms as governor.

Hartzler has been locked in a tight three-way race with Greitens and Missouri Atty. Gen. Eric Schmitt for the U.S. Senate being vacated this year by retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt. Despite having praised Trump throughout the campaign, Hartzler was humiliated for seeking his support.

“She called me this morning asking for my endorsement, much as she has on many other occasions,” Trump wrote. “I was anything but positive in that I don’t think she has what it takes to take on the Radical Left Democrats, together with their partner in the destruction of our Country, the Fake News Media and, of course, the deceptive & foolish RINOs.”

As if it weren’t strange enough to single out one of the three top contenders – all Trump sycophants – for an expressed non-endorsement – Trump effectively was dissing Hawley, his most loyal enabler in the Senate. Hawley was the first senator to announce he would contest 2020 election results in key states at a time when it wasn’t clear any senator would do so.

The snub of Hawley’s favorite in the race doesn’t bode well for Schmitt, who was endorsed in February by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Schmitt has been one of the leading MAGA-supporting attorneys general in the nation, having partnered with Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton on multiple lawsuits.

Schmitt, formerly regarded as a moderate state senator in Missouri, took the lead role in the amicus brief in Texas’ ill-fated Big Lie lawsuit against Pennsylvania. Schmitt also was vice chair of the Republican Attorney General Association (RAGA) when it sent a robocall urging “patriots” to come to Washington D.C. for the January 6 rally that led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Sporting a Cruz endorsement, Schmitt may discover the hard way what Hartzler learned: that loyalty is a necessary qualification for receiving Trump’s support, but not necessarily a sufficient one.