Former President Donald Trump received an endorsement from an influential senator just days before his first primary challenge in Iowa.
On Friday, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah announced his endorsement of Trump’s White House bid during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
Sen. Mike Lee endorses Trump for President: “My favorite kinds of political promises are promises kept. Donald Trump has kept promises that he’s made as he has campaigned in the past… I wholeheartedly endorse Donald J. Trump in his bid for the presidency in 2024.” pic.twitter.com/4y40LW0suf
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 13, 2024
The firebrand Utah senator told host Laura Ingraham that the American people have a chance to choose between “order” and “lawlessness” in this election.
“They have an opportunity to choose between putting America first and America last,” he said.
“I choose first and always to put America first.
“Look, whether you like Donald Trump or not, whether you agree with everything he says, or not, he is our one opportunity to choose order over chaos and putting America first over America last,” Lee added.
“It’s time to get behind him,” he said.
Will Donald Trump win the GOP nomination?
Lee reminded Ingraham that there are always a lot of promises made during presidential campaigns.
“My favorite kinds of political promises, are promises kept,” Lee said.
“Donald Trump has kept the promises that he’s made as he’s campaigned in the past. We know what kind of president he will be.
“So whether you agree with him on every point or not– if you are not content, with the status quo …the status quo of lawlessness, of putting America last, it’s time to get behind Donald Trump and I wholeheartedly endorse Donald J. Trump in his bid for the presidency in 2024,” he said.
Lee published his endorsement of Trump on the social media platform X:
“I just endorsed Donald Trump,” he wrote. “Whether you like Trump or not, Americans face a binary choice. Biden refuses to enforce our border, prosecutes his opponents, & embraces policies that make life unaffordable for hardworking Americans.”
“I’ll take the mean tweets,” he added. “I choose Trump.”
I just endorsed Donald Trump.
Whether you like Trump or not, Americans face a binary choice.
Biden refuses to enforce our border, prosecutes his opponents, & embraces policies that make life unaffordable for hardworking Americans.
I’ll take the mean tweets.
I choose Trump. https://t.co/hirfTzUqpH
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 13, 2024
Trump responded to the endorsement, writing on Truth Social, “Thank you to Senator Mike Lee of Utah – A GREAT HONOR!”
Lee’s endorsement of Trump’s 2024 campaign is a meaningful one. Lee, along with Senator Rand Paul, represents the libertarian wing of the Republican Party in the Senate. It’s a faction Trump needs.
A Politico piece from August 2022 about Lee’s bid for a third term in the Senate — a race he won without the endorsement of fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney — described Lee as ” one of the most libertarian senators, forming cross-party alliances on topics like military intervention overseas and criminal justice reform.”
The article also noted that Lee declined to endorse Trump in 2016.
There’s no doubt Trump already dominates among most GOP voters and holds a commanding lead in primary polls.
At least 106 House Republicans have already publicly backed Trump’s comeback bid for the White House in 2024. In the Senate, Trump has secured endorsements from 20 Republican senators, according to The Hill.
But the party needs to be as united as possible around the winner of the primaries for whatever lies ahead in the general election and every endorsement counts.
Lee’s support is another step toward bringing the entire party under one umbrella.
For former President Donald Trump, it’s another block in building a united coalition.
