RCP’s Phil Wegmann, Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, commented on New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik ending her campaign for governor to spare the party “an unnecessary and protracted primary,” after President Trump declined to endorse her. “She is the tragic figure of the second Trump administration,” he said about Stefanik. “Here you have the youngest female member of Congress, who was on an upward trajectory as a really moderate Republican.” “Donald Trump shows up, and all of a sudden, Elise Stefanik is ‘ultra MAGA.’ She campaigns for him in the Republican primary. She’s one of the very first to say that he should run for president after Jan. 6.” “She was incredibly loyal, and what did she get for it?” Wegmann said. “She’s nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations, only to have that nomination pulled because they want to keep their majority in the House. It seemed like she was ready to make a serious play for New York governor. But then Trump puts his arm around Mamdani and throws her under the bus.” “He says Mamdani’s a normal guy, and that some of his ideas are even mine,” Wegmann explained. “He says this guy isn’t a jihadist, totally deflating that talking point.” “Stefanik was loyal to Trump, and he was not loyal to her. Now her political career is in tatters.”
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