Brooks hits back at Trump over Britt endorsement

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) criticized former President Trump for endorsing his Alabama Republican Senate challenger Katie Britt, saying late Friday on Twitter that “Donald Trump is the only man in American politics who could get conned by Mitch McConnell twice in an Alabama Senate race.”

“This is weird: last time Donald Trump talked about Katie Britt, he said she was unqualified for the Senate,” Brooks said in a tweet thread.

“Let’s just admit it: Trump endorses the wrong people sometimes. He endorsed Mitt Romney, he endorsed John McCain and now he’s endorsed Katie Britt, who his own son, Don Jr. called ‘Alabama’s Liz Cheney,’” he continued.

Brooks’s tweets come after Trump earlier Friday evening announced he would endorse Britt, who served as Sen. Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) chief of staff, in the Alabama Republican primary runoff. 

Neither candidate was able to initially clinch at least half the vote, forcing Brooks and Britt into a June 21 primary runoff.

Brooks lost Trump’s endorsement earlier this year after he upset the former president for suggesting that people should move on from the 2020 presidential election, which Trump has repeatedly claimed was rigged.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has spent millions of dollars against Brooks.

Since Brooks lost Trump’s endorsement, he has campaigned to be reendorsed, but the former president’s Friday announcement effectively nixed any hope that Brooks could secure Trump’s backing again. 

“Alabama grassroots remember in 2017 when Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell got involved in a Senate primary in Alabama—and we rejected them. The people of Alabama will decide,” Brooks said Friday.