From left: Eric Schmitt, Eric Greitens, Eric McElroy.Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty; Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty; Eric Mcelroy For U. S. Senate/Facebook
Former PresidentDonald Trumpfinally waded in toTuesday’s heated Senate primary in Missouri, offering his coveted endorsement of “Eric” in a Monday night statement. There was only one problem — there are three Erics running for the seat.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump wrote.
It was unclear if Trump’s statement was an endorsement of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, current Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, or Eric McElroy — all of whom are running in the primary — and his spokesperson toldNBC News"the endorsement speaks for itself."
Greitens and Schmitt, believed to be the two frontrunners, each claimed the endorsement for himself.
Schmitt echoed the gratitude, writing, “I’m grateful for President Trump’s endorsement.”
Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, was alsoindictedin 2017 on a felony charge of computer tampering, following claims that he improperly took a donor list from his nonprofit veterans group to help his political campaign. Then, in 2018, was indicted ona felony invasionof privacy charge related to allegations that he had tried to blackmail a woman with whom he had the affair (both of those charges were laterdropped).
In March 2022, Greitens ex-wife, Sheena Greitens,accused her ex-husband of “unstable and coercive behavior"that included “physical violence” toward their two young children in an affidavit filed in an ongoing child custody dispute.
The former governor released a statement onTwitterat the time, calling his ex-wife’s claims “completely fabricated, baseless allegations.”
Schmitt, who has been leading the polls, has faced his owncriticismfrom opponents for filing dozens of lawsuits against Missouri cities and school districts over their pandemic precautions, such as mask mandates.
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McElroy, meanwhile, a comedian and author who has been lagging in the polls, hasn’t weighed in on the Trump endorsement — though some other Republicans have.
U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, the third Republican frontrunner in the race, issued a statement to theSt. Louis Post-Dispatchsaying, “Congrats to Eric McElroy. He’s having a big night.”
source: people.com
