Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), a MAGA Republican and an ally of Donald Trump, refused to endorse the former president during a radio appearance last week—and was less than forthright about why.
“Me and President Trump, we are in communications and what I say is that ‘I want to make sure … I don’t want to do anything that’s going to negatively impact anybody else’s race,’” Rosendale told KBUL, seemingly suggesting that his endorsement might somehow hurt Trump.
For months Rosendale, who was one of eight Republicans to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month, has drawn raised eyebrows from other Republicans for continuing to express solidarity with the former president—including a public visit to Mar-a-Lago—without explicitly endorsing him.
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On Wednesday afternoon—about an hour after this story was first published—Rosendale took to X to voice his support for Trump.
“President Trump and I have had a great relationship over the years, and I am grateful for the work he has done for our country,” Rosendale wrote in the post, the first to mention the former president since the congressman visited Mar-a-Lago in April. “We need him in the White House again, and I stand ready to support his bid for President in whatever manner he feels would be most beneficial.”
A spokesperson for Rosendale did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the post constituted an official endorsement.
Rosendale’s comical attempts to avoid an endorsement may be tied to the bizarre behind-the-scenes infighting playing out between Trump and the Club For Growth, a powerful conservative group with deep pockets that has soured on the former president in the past year.
The pair “broke up,” as Trump put it, after the Club backed different candidates in the 2022 midterm primaries, with the relationship only deteriorating more since then.
In February, Trump blasted the group as the “Club For NO Growth, an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers.”
As The Daily Beast previously reported, it’s become increasingly apparent among Republican operatives that earning the Club’s backing—and by extension, its multi-million dollar funding network—is more difficult for those that endorse Trump.
The Club has said it would back Rosendale even with a Trump endorsement, but as Rosendale gears up for a possible Senate run against Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), it appears he’s playing it safe.
“Quite frankly, while there’s a lot of people across the state of Montana that continue to cheer for me, it’s not always in everybody’s best interest to have ‘Matt Rosendale’ tagline on there unfortunately,” Rosendale said during the KBUL radio appearance.
Pressed if he was saying his endorsement would actually hurt Trump’s chances, Rosendale responded: “I don’t know, I can’t gauge what my endorsement would help or hurt anyone.”
