The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-27)

A22 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MARCH 27 , 2022

the discussions. Trump likes Oz, a fellow television veteran, and would be inclined to back him, some advisers said. But McCor- mick advisers have tried to make the case that Trump doesn’t want to back a loser and that Oz is not going to win. Trump has also noticed Oz taking a “beating in the press,” an adviser said. “Dr. Oz has had a great relation- ship with President Trump for several years,” Oz’s communications director, Brittany Yanick, said in response. On one recent Thursday in

BY MICHAEL SCHERER

AND JOSH DAWSEY

Former president Donald
Trump has slowed his efforts to
shape the nation’s most competi-
tive Republican primaries, hold-
ing back endorsements in some of
the biggest Senate races and pub-
licly abandoning his support for
the struggling Senate campaign
of Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama.
But the president’s decision to
temporarily delay endorsements,
in the face of struggles by several
of those he earlier sided with, has
served only to increase efforts
among Republican candidates,
former advisers and political con-
sultants to court his favor.
They have been dining with
him regularly at his Florida es-
tate, Mar-a-Lago, filling his
schedule with multiple meetings
a day at t imes and attending fund-
raisers for Trump’s political com-
mittees, or even for other candi-
dates, to get his attention.
The endorsement scramble has
brought lucrative paydays to
more than a dozen Trump consul-
tants and advisers working for
candidates, many of whom have
lobbied the former president for
his imprimatur. Pleas from old
friends and current advisers have
become so unrelenting in recent
months that the former presi-
dent’s staff created a list to help
him understand the conflicts of
interest among those on the pay-
roll of particular candidates, ac-
cording to those familiar with the
effort.
At least five of Trump’s infor-
mal or formal advisers are seek-
ing his attention on behalf of
multiple candidates, some oper-
ating under contracts that are
individually worth $10,000 or
more a month, people familiar
with the matter said. They and
others spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss private in-
teractions.
Trump has welcomed the at-
tention, teasing his supporters
with the promise of endorse-
ments to come, according to peo-
ple familiar with the efforts. They
also say he has sometimes grown
annoyed at what he views as pay-
days for others in proximity to
him. One top adviser called the
process to get his endorsements
from former and current advisers
a “total feeding frenzy.”
While his political power has
faded some, according to polling
and operatives, Trump remains
the most influential figure in a
GOP primary. His PAC controls
more than $120 million — money
capable of reinforcing loyalty
among Republican voters.
“I’ve helped a lot of people in a
lot of different states. Now, we are
looking at O hio. We a re looking at
Arizona. We are looking at Penn-
sylvania,” Trump said at a paid
speaking event on March 19 in
Sunrise, Fla.
Trump went on to name-check
Mehmet Oz, a Senate candidate in
Pennsylvania who has been work-
ing hard to win over the former
president, having dined with him
and former first lady Melania
Trump just days earlier at Mar-a-
Lago.
Oz is one of several candidates

who have made themselves into major presences this winter in Trump’s social circle in Palm Beach, Fla., having hosted a New Year’s party at his own second home in the town. Fox News host Sean Hannity has also talked up Oz’s candidacy with Trump, according to several people familiar with the lobbying. (“Sean makes his opinions known about candidates on TV and radio every day,” Fox spokeswoman Caley Cronin said when asked about the ap- peal.) “Does anybody like Dr. Oz?” Trump asked the crowd at the American Freedom Tour event, eliciting cheers. “He seems to be doing well. He’s got a good race, a tough race.” Yet that race also illustrates the clashing desires of those in Trump’s circle. Oz’s chief rival, former hedge fund chief David McCormick, has mounted his own effort, with the help of his wife, Dina Powell, who previously worked in the Trump White House. The couple call Trump regularly, according to people familiar with the efforts, and send emissaries as well. McCormick, who is self-funding his campaign, has also hired former White House aide Cliff Sims, former Trump pollster Jim McLaughlin and former Trump speechwriter Stephen Miller, according to a campaign adviser. Kellyanne Conway and Andy Surabian, an adviser to Donald Trump Jr., are working with a super PAC supporting McCor- mick. McCormick’s advisers are looking to keep Trump at l east neutral, according to a person involved in

March at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump found himself double booked, according to a person familiar with his schedule — one meeting with former White House senior adviser Hope Hicks, who is working for McCormick, and another with David Bossie, a former deputy campaign manager who has been hired by Jane Timken, a Senate candidate in Ohio. Timken has also loaded her campaign with Trump advisers, adding his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as a senior adviser, just months after her campaign said he had no role with her effort after he was ac- cused in September of sexually harassing the wife of a Republi- can donor at a dinner in Las Vegas. Timken also is advised by Conway and Boris Epshteyn, a former White House assistant communications director and campaign adviser to Trump. One of Timken’s rivals for the Senate seat in Ohio, self-funding businessman Mike Gibbons, re- cently shelled out his own money to attend a high-dollar February fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for Trump’s super PAC, Make Ameri- ca Great Again, Again, according to Samantha Cotten, a spokeswoman for Gibbons’s campaign. The event was a candidate forum for America First candidates, but Gibbons was not one of the select- ed candidates, according to people familiar with the event. “He attended that event as a donor because he supports candidates who support the America First agenda — just like he supports Trump,” Cotten explained in a statement. She declined to say how much Gibbons donated. Several people in Trump’s orbit said he has approached the endorsement calculations with a three-part test: What has the person said or done about the 2020 election? What do the polls show about the person’s ability to win? What has the person said or done about Trump in the past? “Everyone who calls him, he wants to go around the world with these Senate races, who is working for whom, what does the polling say, what have they said about him in the past, what do you think of them, all the usual questions,” said one Trump adviser involved in GOP primaries. Two advisers who have pushed endorsements or data to Trump say he has asked them if they were speaking for their client — or giving Trump advice that was best for him. “He wants to know if you’re on the payroll for some- body else,” one said. “It’s okay if you are, but you have to tell him.” Trump spokesman Taylor Bu- dowich said Trump “selects candidates based on their ability to deliver and win for America — making America great is the only thing that matters.” The former president appeared Saturday in Georgia alongside one of the Sen- ate candidates he has endorsed, Herschel Walker. The behind-the-scene machina- tions follow struggles for several of Trump’s early endorsements. Trump’s first pick for the Republi- can Senate nomination in Penn- sylvania, Sean Parnell, dropped out of the race after a judge ruled in a child custody dispute that he had committed “some acts of abuse” against his family. Trump’s recruit for the Georgia gubernatorial race, former sena- tor David Perdue, has consistently SEE TRUMP ON A23

As Trump endorsements slow, candidates and advisers scramble

CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

Former president Donald Trump, right, welcomes Senate candidate Mo Brooks at an August rally in Cullman, Ala. Trump has since abandoned his support for Brooks. His power has faded somewhat, but Trump remains the most influential figure in a GOP primary.

LYNNE SLADKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican candidates have been dining with Trump regularly at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, above, filling his schedule with meetings a nd attending fundraisers for his political committees.

OCTAVIO JONES/REUTERS

Mehmet Oz, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, is one of several candidates who have made themselves into major presences in Trump’s social circle in Palm Beach, Fla.

ROOFING & SIDING SPECIALISTS!

CALL NOW!

301-948-2678 | 703-218-1241

FOURSEASONSHOMEIMP.COM DC# 39 40072 9 | MHIC# 129630 | VA# 2705082387A

We’re here to help! We can work with you & your insurance company to get your house back to being a home!

FREE ESTIMATES

LIFETIME WARRANTY

PRODUCTS

Storm, Hail, Wind or Tree Damage?

INTEREST SAME AS

CASH/DEFERRED

0 PAYMENT OPTIONS

DOWN PAYMENT (^) %
FINANCING

$

0

*with approved credit

LOW EASY PAYMENTS!

FREE GUTTER COVERS

Valid with purchase of new roof Ask about our

DAILY DISCOUNT!

Now serving Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.

WE DO IT ALL! Tub LinersTub and Shower Replacements Tub-to-Shower Conversions

20 2-719-28 65

Book your FREE design CONSULTATION today!

OUR BENEFITS

Easy to Clean Seamless Wall One-Day Installation 1 2

1Tub-to-shower conversions and fiberglass replacements typically require a two-day installation. 2Lifetime warranty valid for as long as you own your home. *Offer ends 4/15/2022. All offers apply to a complete Bath Fitter system only, and must be presented and used at time of estimate. Minimum purchase required. Terms of promotional financing are 24 months of no interest from the date of installation and minimum deposit. See representative for details. Qualified buyers only. May not be combined with other offers or applied to previous purchases. Valid only at select Bath Fitter locations. Offers and warranty subject to limitations. Fixtures and features may be different than pictured. Accessories pictured are not included. Plumbing work done by P.U.L.S.E. Plumbing. Daniel Paul Hemshrodt MD MPL #17499, MD HIC #129995, VA HIC #2705146537, DC HIC #420213000044. Each Franchise Independently Owned And Operated By Mid Atlantic Bath Solutions, LLC.

BIGGEST OFFER OF THE YEAR

OR

*

FITS YOUR standards

With quality you can trust and a lifetime guarantee, Bath Fitter doesn’t just fit your bath, it fits your high standards. Why have over two million people brought Bath Fitter into their homes? It Just Fits.