Trump aides worry he is at 'political risk' as his 2024 endorsements 'backfire': report

According to a report from the New York Times, there is growing concern among members of Donald Trump's inner circle that his obsession with ousting Republican Party lawmakers who either voted for his impeachment or questioned his claim the 2020 election was stolen from him, could lead to his downfall as a GOP kingmaker.

As the Times' Jonathan Martin and Shane Goldmacher report, several of the candidates that the former president has endorsed are facing defeat in upcoming primary battles and several others have blown up in his face already. That, in turn, has led some of his aides to fret he will be exposed as having less sway with voters than he would like people to believe.

"... the range of Trump-backed candidates has become so unwieldy that even some of his own advisers have warned that his expansive effort to install loyalists nationwide has not only threatened his brand but diluted its impact, exposing him unnecessarily to political risk, according to advisers and Republican strategists," the report states before citing Trump's abrupt retraction of his endorsement of Rep. Mo Brooks (R) for a U.S. Senate seat with Brooks' campaign seemingly doomed.

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"Already, two of Mr. Trump’s early and most prominent Senate endorsements have backfired long before voters head to the polls. In addition to Alabama, his initial choice in Pennsylvania, Sean Parnell, quit the race last fall after abuse allegations emerged in a child custody dispute. And fears of further setbacks have helped keep Mr. Trump on the sidelines so far in choosing a replacement thereor a candidate in the Ohio or Missouri Senate races," the Times reports.

According to one GOP pollster, Trump's picks have been disastrous.

“I don’t know whether he is letting emotion rule his decision making or if he is getting bad advice,” explained Glen Bolger. "But it seems like he is picking candidates who are pretty weak, and that’s not a place — when you’re trying to be kingpin — where you want to be.”

The Times' report adds that Trump is becoming increasingly aware that he needs to be more circumspect about his choices as his GOP critics wait to pounce on his perceived weakness with influencing conservative voters.

"The early stumbles have come as Mr. Trump’s rivals, and even some erstwhile allies, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have become more emboldened to break ranks publicly with Mr. Trump," the report states. "The former president’s own obsession with his endorsement success rate as a metric of his power has only magnified attention on upcoming primaries. Mr. Trump crowed after the Texas primary this month about how all 33 people he had endorsed either won outright or were far ahead. But nearly all of those candidates were on a glide path to victory without his backing."

You can read more here.