Republicans are preparing for a political “bloodbath” as tensions mount among former President Donald Trump's top advisers over an upcoming senatorial primary, according to a new report.
The predicted Montana contest between Rep. Matt Rosendale and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy — both of whom want the chance to try and unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester — has tempers rising among the Trump team, NBC reported Tuesday.
“Obviously there’s this bloodbath that’s about to play out,” a strategist close to Trump’s team told NBC. “Rosendale has a clear Trump world problem that may reach to the highest level of Trump world as he enters this race.”
Seven GOP strategists spoke to NBC about campaign threats to a Rosendale, who failed to defeat Tester in 2018, from a younger, fresher challenger, NBC reports.
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While the National Republican Senatorial Committee entertains suspicions that Democrats are undermining Rosendale by refusing to take him on in attack ads, NBC reports friction between the 63-year-old and former president.
Rosendale publicly refused a phone call from the former president and “ambushed” him at Mar-a-Lago for a photo-op, the report notes. He also delayed his endorsement of Trump by months.
“Trump advisers considered it an ambush, according to four sources familiar with the encounter,” writes Henry J. Gomez. “They were particularly incensed about what they saw as Rosendale’s attempt to project a close relationship without offering an endorsement.”
Two team Trump sources told NBC Rosendale should worry about the former president potentially endorsing Sheehy, considering he backed Trump months before Rosendale did.
Read the full report here.
