Trump Reportedly ‘Embarrassed and Pissed’ His Candidate Lost Alabama Race
President Donald Trump is “embarrassed and pissed” by the Alabama Senate primary race, which ended Wednesday night in a loss for his preferred candidate Luther Strange.
That’s according to a CNN report, which was initially teased in a tweet by Jim Acosta, who reported that multiple sources have told the CNN that Trump is displeased with the result:
Trump “embarrassed and pissed” that Strange lost last night. Feels outdone by Bannon. Blaming McConnell. Per mult sources to CNN WH team.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) September 27, 2017
Per the CNN report, after seeing the results of the Alabama election Trump launched into “angry venting at his political team and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had consolidated establishment GOP support behind Strange.”
Strange replaced Jeff Sessions as interim senator for Alabama, after Sessions was appointed Attorney General by Trump. The president threw his support behind Strange, reportedly at the behest of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who attempted to bolster the senator’s campaign with the GOP’s generous financial support.
But Strange was challenged by Roy Moore — a former judge, right-wing insurgent candidate, and apparent nutcase — who gradually overtook the interim senator in the polls.
Moore ran a campaign and on a platform that hewed closely to Trump’s more radical tendencies during the 2016 election, and was supported by the president’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon and his website Breitbart.
And despite Trump campaigning for Strange in the run-up to the election, Moore wound up trouncing the senator, taking 55 percent of the vote to Strange’s 45.
Trump’s “concerns were only exacerbated by the endorsement of Moore by his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who made a highly visible push for Moore as the anti-GOP-establishment candidate,” CNN reported.
But while many of Trump’s supporters see Moore’s win as a victory for the MAGA-style of politics Trump introduced to the national stage, the president is reportedly taking the upset very personally:
He went to bed “embarrassed and pissed” following the election loss, according to a person familiar with his mindset. Trump, multiple sources said, is furious with McConnell, and feels outdone by his former aide Bannon.
And on Wednesday, the president congratulated Moore for his victory on Twitter — as he scrubbed all his tweets in support of Strange from the platform.
[image via screengrab]
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