Some local Republicans have, on occasion, pushed back against Trump's chaotic, irrational and ego-centric endorsements in their areas, especially when they sense Trump and his cronies are being paid off to back certain candidates-- like the ones in Peter Thiel's stable of fascist ass-lickers. In the Nashville area, right-wing MAGA freaks went after Trump for endorsing Morgan Ortagus instead of movement lunatic Robby Starbuck. This morning, Politico ran a piece by Natalie Allison about a similar situation in North Carolina where Señor Trumpanzee-- at the suggestion of North Carolina Nazi Madison Cawthorn-- endorsed Bo Hines, who doesn’t live anywhere near NC-13 and is running against former congresswoman (and Kevin McCarthy mistress) Renee Ellmers, who was the first congresswoman to endorse Trump in 2016. [McCarthy dropped his bid for the Speakership in 2016 when Freedom Caucus psychopath Tim Huelskamp threatened to expose the affair with Ellmers, which was an open secret in DC, although John Boehner had told McCarthy to stop fucking her after he was elected majority leader.]
Hines is extremely extreme and would be an immediate member of the Gang Greene. Ellmers is more of aa garden variety right-wing careerist. "With Hines set to join the former president on stage at a rally in Johnston County Saturday," wrote Allison, "a local effort is afoot to sink his candidacy before it takes off. Through newspaper advertisements, email blasts and door-knocking, some local Republicans are trying to spread the word that Hines, Trump’s favored candidate in the 13th Congressional District, is a carpetbagger. In their view, the former president was misguided in endorsing Hines over homegrown conservatives invested in local party politics. The revolt against Trump by conservatives who adore him, while rare, isn’t the first of its kind this year. Trump has issued scores of midterm endorsements, in some cases for candidates who are all but unknown to local GOP officials and activists... Earlier in the election cycle, Hines campaigned for other congressional seats elsewhere in the state. He filed to run in the newly redrawn 13th district on March 2; less than two weeks later, Trump issued his endorsement, describing the 26-year-old as an 'unwavering America First patriot.'"
Two Republican groups are running radio and print ads against Hines. Dale Lands, the founder of Citizen Advocates for Accountable Government is leading grassroots efforts against Hines. He told Allison that "We’re all America First people, but we don’t need Mr. Trump or anybody else bringing candidates in who don’t know nothing about farming, don’t know anything about agriculture and the roads here and the needs we have." The neo-fascist PAC, Club for Growth put $1.2 million behind this ad to get Hines elected:
The rumor in NC-13 is that Hines is a moron and knows nothing at all about politics or governance. Some say Cawthorn wants to have an orgy with him.
Many local party organizations haven't realized yet that helping Trump raise millions of dollars is a one-way street-- and not towards them. He's brought in over $110 million but America's most notorious grifter is not handing it out to local Republican parties. Jonathan Allen and Allan Smith reported for NBC News that "They are watching him rake in money from persistent email solicitations to the party's small-donor base and at VIP receptions connected to a full schedule of campaign-style rallies. And they see a man stockpiling a war chest for another presidential run instead of using his prowess to boost the party. Through his 'Save America' super PAC in support of Republicans, Trump doled out just $205,000 to 41 federal candidates through Feb. 28, the last date covered by his most recent campaign finance disclosure. The vast majority of that money has gone to Republicans running in safe seats, or against incumbents he detests, rather than competitive races likely to help determine which party wins the House and Senate in November's midterms. In the weeks since the latest disclosure, Trump has endorsed a handful of additional candidates who are battling for swing seats. His endorsement typically comes with a check for $5,000-- the maximum direct contribution the super PAC can make."
Republican campaign veterans and Trump insiders say they are disappointed but not surprised by what they describe as a combination of stinginess and selfishness by the former president.
One former Trump campaign official said there was no way Trump would "spend any money on these people in midterms," adding that the former president was raising money for himself.
"He does not share well when it comes to money," this person said in an interview, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as to not incur backlash from the former president and those in his orbit.
Though current fundamentals show the GOP on the verge of significant gains this fall, some Republicans worry the party could leave House and Senate seats on the table if Trump doesn’t dig deeper into his war chest to help battleground candidates in the coming months.
"It pisses me off," said Dan Eberhart, a GOP donor based in Arizona, who noted that Trump isn't even making more than a perfunctory direct contribution to help the allies who have secured his endorsement, much less the candidates the party will rely on to try to win majorities. "It’s pretty selfish."
...In the 72 battleground districts identified by the National Republican Congressional Committee last week, Trump had donated to only two candidates: Ryan Zinke in Montana and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin. In one instance, because Florida hasn’t finished redrawing its congressional lines for the midterms, it remains to be seen whether Anna Paulina Luna, a Trump-endorsed and -funded candidate, will find herself in one of the NRCC’s battlegrounds.
...Trump’s decision to invert the purpose of a super PAC-- spending limited amounts on other candidates while stockpiling cash that could be used in his own potential 2024 presidential bid-- doesn’t sit well with many Republicans.
"All the money that he’s raising for himself, it’s not going to candidates," said former Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va, who has long been critical of the former president. "I think they [Republicans] are seeing that it’s all about him and that he doesn’t care about Republicans winning a majority."
That’s evident, she said, in Trump’s focus on backing primary challengers to Republican incumbents who have crossed him.
"If you’re a Republican running in a swing seat, are you a little annoyed that a bunch of money is going to be wasted on Liz Cheney in a Republican seat instead of winning those swing seats that will get us a majority in the House?" Comstock asked rhetorically.
Trump's constant mining for cash for his own super PAC-- he often sends out multiple solicitations a day-- means it's more likely small-dollar donors have been bled dry and are less inclined to give to other Republican candidates, as one GOP operative who asked to remain anonymous to avoid drawing the former president’s wrath told NBC News.
"That is a huge problem," the operative said.
And there’s no reason to expect Trump that will change his approach in order to assist fellow Republicans, a second former campaign adviser said on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the former president.
"He hasn’t spent any money to win any election" in which he’s not the candidate, the former adviser said.