Former President Donald Trump put out a video in support of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt Monday, just two weeks before a U.S. Senate election where Schmitt is considered a heavy favorite.
The video marked Trump’s first outright endorsement of Schmitt. In the contentious Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Trump put out a statement on the eve of Election Day saying that he endorsed “Eric” for U.S. Senate, effectively splitting his endorsement between Schmitt and former Gov. Eric Greitens.
Trump started the video supporting Schmitt by introducing himself as “your favorite president of all time, more so than Washington or Lincoln or anyone... At least I hope that’s so.”
He then talked about crime, inflation and the Biden administration’s withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan and said Schmitt would fight for Missourians in the Senate.
“Eric will never allow these things to happen,” Trump said. “He’ll fight for you and he’ll fight hard. I’ve been with him for a long time, I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s a great guy for a great state. Vote for Eric Schmitt, as you know, he has my complete and total endorsement.”
On Twitter, where the video was posted, Schmitt thanked Trump and said he wanted to win Missouri, take back the senate and “save America.” Save America appears on some of the bright red hats the Trump campaign sells and is the name of one of the political action committees that supports Trump.
While Democrats and Republicans are battling for control of the U.S. Senate, Schmitt is heavily favored to win the U.S. Senate race in Missouri. He has consistently associated himself with the former president and earlier this month he held a fundraiser at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Schmitt has signed on to a legal brief supporting Trump in his legal dispute with the Department of Justice, which approved an FBI search of Trump’s resort in August. He also signed on to a lawsuit that attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s video is similar to one posted by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Sunday. Schmidt is the Republican nominee against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in a tight gubernatorial race in Kansas.
Missouri Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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