Just before Thursday’s guilty verdict against Donald Trump, Larry Hogan — Maryland’s GOP candidate for U.S. Senate — went after the former president and said he agrees with the ruling.
“We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law,” Hogan tweeted Thursday.
R.N.C. Co-Chair Lara Trump went on CNN to call Hogan’s comment “ridiculous, causing Fox News star Brit Hume to rush to Hogan’s defense.
“It’s political malpractice,” Hume said, referring to Lara Trump’s comment.
Hume continued —
I mean, Maryland is a very blue state. And Larry Hogan, who remained popular as a Republican governor and remains that way to this day, is giving the Republican Party the best chance it’s had in a long time to elect a Republican to the Senate. And the Lara Trumps of the world ought to be saying, “Please, Mr. Hogan, Please, Governor Hogan, you do whatever you have to do to get elected. And some of the things you say you believe in don’t agree with what I think. That’s OK. Do what you have to do.”
That’s how politics is played by smart people… If you’re a Republican, you should hope that, because that’s what could happen with this kind of stupid stuff.
On one hand, Hogan — a recent, popular governor — remains one of the few Republicans with any chance of winning the Senate race in deep-blue Maryland, just as Susan Collins remains one of the few Republicans with any chance of winning Maine’s Senate seat.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also rushed to the defense of Hogan.
“I think people should take a deep breath, actually read what Larry Hogan said in the process. It wasn’t an anti-Trump comment,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said on Fox News. “You want Larry Hogan going through. He has proven that he can win in that state. Two-term governor, he is a conservative.”
Then again, the national GOP might be helping Hogan by attacking him in a deep-blue district.
Polls show a tight race between Hogan and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive.
Take a look at Lara Trump’s remarks. Do you agree?
RNC co-chair Lara Trump on Larry Hogan calling for Americans to respect the legal process: "I don't support what he said. I think it's ridiculous … he doesn't deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point." pic.twitter.com/mMl2c0jAh6
— Derek Friday 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@DerekFriday) June 3, 2024