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Both Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. John Rose, the frontrunners in Tennessee’s Republican primary for governor, boast publicly about their relationships with President Donald Trump and are committed to furthering his agenda in the state if elected governor. But, the president is reportedly refusing to make an endorsement to help either candidate in the primary.
On a visit to Memphis this spring, Trump told members of Tennessee’s Congressional delegation aboard Air Force One that he would not be endorsing Blackburn, because Rose had been loyal to him.
Two members of Congress who were present for the flight confirmed the conversation to the Banner, including quoting the president as saying “John [Rose] has been good to me.”
The topic reportedly came up after both Rose and Blackburn were present in a group of lawmakers in Trump’s office aboard the flight, and the president remarked on it being awkward that two candidates for governor were in the room together.
One member of Congress told the Banner that they interpreted the president’s remarks to mean he wouldn’t endorse either candidate in the August primary and noted that the president had said the same in other conversations. Still, the representative, who spoke to the Banner under the condition of anonymity, noted on Friday that “this president has been known to change his mind.”
In races across the country, Trump has regularly put his finger on the scale to help Republicans win competitive general elections and to help the party's most loyal to him win in primary elections. Just last year, the president endorsed Rep. Matt Van Epps in a special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, helping him clinch a crowded Republican primary. President Trump then hosted a phone rally and called into a local event to help Van Epps in the unusually close general election.
Blackburn and Trump have publicly had a close relationship in both of the president's terms.
Earlier this year, Trump said he would miss having her in the Senate, calling Blackburn “an incredible person,” but stopped just shy of an endorsement.
“Unfortunately, she’s running for governor. She’s running for governor of Tennessee. I’d love her not to, I begged her,” Trump said during a rally in January. “‘I said, ‘Marsha, don’t. We don’t want to lose you in the Senate.’”
“But I have to say they’re lucky, they’re lucky to get you because you are a talent and a great person and you’ve been with me all the way and I appreciate it,” Trump continued.
At another event in March, Trump said Blackburn would be “the new governor soon, I guess,” as the senator has consistently polled dozens of points ahead of Rose ahead of the primary.
A witness to the conversation on Air Force One speculated that the president’s refusal to endorse Blackburn may have stemmed from the senator’s vote to certify the 2020 election results, unlike Rose and other staunch Trump-loyalists.
While Rose later said the president was wrong to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to obstruct the certification of election results, the congressman did vote against certification, aligning himself with the president on an issue that has played a monumental role in Trump endorsements and Republican primaries in recent years.
Blackburn’s campaign declined to comment for this story.
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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