Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) announced Wednesday he’s endorsing Donald Trump in this year’s GOP primary, picking the former president over challengers Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis, who he appeared to be leaning toward last winter.
Cotton’s announcement was shared to X, formerly Twitter, and didn’t mention any of Trump’s GOP challengers. Instead, the endorsement focused on Joe Biden and how Cotton claims the U.S. has “gone to hell” under his leadership, despite the economy firing on all cylinders.
“When Donald Trump was president, America was safe, strong, and prosperous,” the endorsement read. “The economy was booming, working-class wages were growing, our border was secure, and our enemies feared us. With Joe Biden as president, everything has gone to hell.”
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Cotton added, “Families can’t afford groceries, our border is wide open to a full-blown invasion, and our enemies are starting wars everywhere.”
The Arkansas senator’s backing of Trump is another loss for DeSantis, who’d courted Cotton at a three-day gathering in Palm Beach last winter, when the Florida governor still appeared to be Trump’s biggest threat from the right. Cotton reportedly spoke on a panel moderated by DeSantis, which also included conservative commentator Ann Coulter and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) as speakers.
Cotton was once an ardent supporter of Trump but reportedly fell out of favor with the ex-president in 2021 when Cotton voted to certify the 2020 election.
“How can you certify an election when the numbers being certified are verifiably WRONG,” Trump tweeted on Jan. 4, 2021, tagging Cotton’s official Twitter account. “You will see the real numbers tonight during my speech, but especially on JANUARY 6th... Republicans have pluses & minuses, but one thing is sure, THEY NEVER FORGET!”
Cotton’s support brings Trump’s endorsement total to seven governors, 18 Republican senators, and more than 90 House Republicans, the Daily Caller reported.
“I endorse President Trump and I look forward to working with him to win back the White House and the Senate so we can help hardworking Arkansans suffering from Joe Biden’s disastrous policies,” Cotton said. “It’s time to get our country back on track.”
