According to a report from Politico, Donald Trump is balking at making an endorsement for a Republican party candidate to run against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) over fears he may get it wrong in his former home state as well as worrying about alienating one of the two top candidates -- both of whom have been big supporters of his presidency.
At issue for the former president is that former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) has been a longtime defender through both of Trump's impeachments, and the other leading candidate is Andrew Giuliani, whose father Rudy is facing investigations for some of his shenanigans in the service of Trump as well as a billion-dollar lawsuit for defamation.
As the report notes, the third candidate with a shot at the GOP nomination in the "contentious" race, is also an ardent Trump supporter, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who has known the former president for years.
As the report notes, Trump is taking a hard look at the polling while weighing friendship versus political viability versus loyalty that could lead him to sit out making an endorsement and not risk making the wrong call leading to what would be another embarrassing primary loss.
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"As Trump looks to play kingmaker across the country by boosting GOP candidates with his coveted endorsement among GOP candidates, perhaps no race is as personal and as vexing for him as the Republican primary in New York — a battle that will test Trump’s loyalties and friendships," Politico's Joseph Spector wrote. "The decision is likely between Zeldin or Giuliani, and the working theory among those who speak to Trump is that he’ll probably sit out the primary and help the candidate who wins to try to retake the governor’s mansion in Albany — a seat Trump himself seriously considered running for in 2014."
The report adds, "Trump’s undivided loyalty to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani makes Trump’s decision extraordinary complex," adding that the former president has met with both Giuliani's at Mar-a-Lago and they came away empty-handed as far as endorsements go.
According to Astorino, the former president might be smart to keep quiet, suggesting his longtime friend doesn't "want to make the wrong decision in his home state where he knows it really well and knows the candidates really well and personally.”
He added, "I’ve known him a long time, and I consider him a friend. And obviously I’ve voted for him, and I think he has friends and allies in this race, so I think he’ll probably just stay out because it’s likely that any one of us could win.”
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