Donald Trump said during an interview Monday that he did not endorse Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who won re-election in 2022 and is now one of the architects of the immigration bill that Trump opposes. The problem: Trump did endorse him.
“Just to correct the record, I did not endorse Sen. Lankford. I didn’t do it. He ran, and I did not endorse him,” Trump claimed on The Dan Bongino Show, after the host made Trump aware that some have called attention to the former president's endorsement. “So I’m sure your person will be happy to hear that.”
The truth, however, is easily accessible.
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In a statement on Sept. 27, 2022, Trump gave his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to Lankford, and even praised the senator as “Strong on the Border.”
“James was strongly committed to America First, and everything it stood for, and likewise strongly committed to me, as President. Sometimes we didn’t exactly agree on everything, but we do now,” the statement read. “He is a very good man with a fabulous wife and family, loves the great State of Oklahoma, and is working very hard on trying to Save our Country from the disaster that it is in.”
Trump, who also falsely claimed just days ago that he had “won” one of his New York cases in an appeals court, has stated his opposition to the immigration bill that Lankford and Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) drew up, and many Republicans in Congress feel the same. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who admitted last month that he speaks with Trump “pretty frequently” about the border situation, called it “dead on arrival” should it reach the House. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a vocal Trump supporter, likewise bashed it, as did House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
Several Republicans, like Rep. Troy Nels (R-TX), have openly admitted that they would prefer not to pass legislation that would help President Joe Biden’s political fortunes. On that note, Lankford said later Monday on CNN that “a chaotic border is helpful to” Trump.
Biden has signaled his support for the bill, urging lawmakers in a statement to “get it to my desk so I can sign it into law immediately.”
