President Trump personally texted comedian Bill Maher to dispute his claim that most Trump-endorsed candidates have lost their primaries this year — and Mr. Maher backed down on air.
“I heard from one viewer who was very upset about this, contacted me directly,” Mr. Maher said on his Friday “Real Time” broadcast, adding that he and the president “text.” After reviewing data Mr. Trump sent him, Mr. Maher said, “I did overstate it.” Of the 260 candidates Mr. Trump has endorsed this cycle, only nine have lost, a 97% success rate.
Mr. Trump is now taking a harder line with another journalist. He’s demanding the Federal Communications Commission report NBC’s Kristen Welker for “rebuke or punishment” after the “Meet the Press” anchor said his endorsement record has had “mixed results.” On Truth Social, Mr. Trump called it a “purposeful inaccuracy” and urged FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to take this “Threat to our Country” seriously. NBC stood by Ms. Welker, calling her “one of the best in the business.”
Mr. Trump has made 313 endorsements overall, winning 96%, according to Ballotpedia. He touts a 100% success rate in Senate primaries and 98% in House races. Both flaps circle back to the same recent wins: Darline Graham’s South Carolina Senate runoff victory and Mike Mazzei’s narrow Oklahoma primary win.
Read more:
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.