WATCH: Trump Inflates the Weight of His Endorsements, ‘If I Endorse Somebody, They Win’
Former President Donald Trump inflated the importance of his endorsements, while claiming that the Virginia gubernatorial race is boiling down to his supporter base.
In a Fox News interview that aired Saturday, Trump said Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin would only win if Trump supporters turned out to vote.
“If my base turns out, he’s going to win,” Trump said of Youngkin. “And I hope they turn out, I really want them to turn out.”
Polls show the Virginia race as neck-and-neck, and the Cook Political Report has labeled it a “toss up.”
During the interview, Trump addressed Democrats likening Youngkin to Trump, saying that the strategy “backfires” since it motivates Trump’s base to turn out to vote as well.
“I think if my base doesn’t come out, he can’t win,” Trump said. “I think my base has to come out very strongly.”
“Do you see yourself as a kingpin for elections going forward?” Pirro then asked.
“Well, something has happened, and this is not from an egotistical standpoint,” Trump said. “It’s a great honor because it’s never happened before to anybody: if I endorse somebody, they win.”
“If I endorse somebody, they win,” he reiterated. “I think I’m 148-2. That’s a pretty good number.”
Pirro noted: “And you endorsed Youngkin.”
“And I did endorse Youngkin. And we’re going to see, I hope it’s not going to be three. Okay, do you understand that? I did, I endorse him strongly. He’s a good man, he wants to do the right job. He’s a sane person.”
Trump’s claim that only two people he has endorsed have lost elections is far from true. According to Ballotpedia, during the 2020 cycle, five out of 23 Trump-endorsed Senate candidates lost and 33 out of 149 House candidates lost.
One governor candidate Trump endorsed in 2020, North Carolina Republican Dan Forest, lost, as did the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidates in Kentucky and Louisiana lost in 2019.
That is not to say that Trump’s endorsements hold no sway: the vast majority do win, but it’s far from a 148-2 record.
Watch above, via Fox News
