According to a new report from POLITICO, Donald Trump recently met with four Ohio Republican Senate candidates who are currently fighting for the state’s open Senate seat. And evidently, he channeled his days from his old reality TV show, The Apprentice, as he met with the Ohio GOPers in the secret, backdoor meeting ahead of his Mar-a-Lago fundraising event — reportedly putting the contenders in a position to duke it out for his approval and praise.
Among those present at the hush-hush meeting was former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, former state GOP Chair Jane Timken, technology company executive Bernie Moreno and investment banker Mike Gibbons — all of whom had flown in to attend the fundraising event meant to benefit whichever candidate Trump chose to oust one of the 10 House Republicans who threw their support behind Donald’s impeachment. According to the report, the candidates were minding their own business, mingling amongst guests during the pre-dinner cocktail portion of the evening when one of Trump’s aides signaled them all to gather as the ex-President wanted to meet with the contenders in a room just off the lobby.
“What ensued was a 15-minute backroom backbiting session reminiscent of Trump’s reality TV show,” POLITICO reports.
“Mandel said he was ‘crushing’ Timken in polling. Timken touted her support on the ground thanks to her time as state party chair. Gibbons mentioned how he’d helped Trump’s campaign financially. Moreno noted that his daughter had worked on Trump’s 2020 campaign,” the report goes on.
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It seems this sort of behavior has become somewhat of a trend behind the closed doors of the GOP as Republican candidates audition, fight, and grovel for the attention and endorsement of the former president.
Unsurprisingly, it seems Donald is all too happy to relish in pitting people against each other in a fight to the death for his approval.
One person with knowledge of the secret meeting compared what transpired to “The Hunger Games.” To make matters that much worse, it’s reported that the candidates were made to sit at a round table that would force them to face each other as they duked it out in this huddle.
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
