Trump lashes out at Kevin Stitt for endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Donald J. Trump lashed out at Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday for endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, implying that Stitt had been desperate for his endorsement and won reelection because of it.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, the former president, who is running for the nomination again, also said Stitt disliked “the Indians” and his “great Senate pick,” an apparent reference to U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

Stitt endorsed DeSantis at a rally on Saturday in Tulsa and said he was the best Republican option for defeating President Joe Biden in 2024. Stitt told reporters it was “time to turn the page,” though he said the new indictments against the former president were politically motivated and not the reason he endorsed DeSantis.

In his post on Monday, Trump said, “Governor Stitt of Oklahoma, who I didn’t know very well, called me before his last election to say he was in BIG trouble and very much needed my Endorsement. I LOVE Oklahoma & won 76 out of 76 Districts, something that never happened before. Ronald Reagan was next with 56. Anyway, I gave him my endorsement, he immediately went way up, and won. Now, despite the fact that DeSanctimonious is losing to Biden, & me, Stitt just endorsed him. Wow! He disliked “the Indians” & my great Senate pick.”

DeSantis in Oklahoma: DeSantis reaches out to Oklahoma voters in Tulsa visit; gets Gov. Stitt's endorsement

Fact checking Donald Trump's post

Trump got some things wrong about Oklahoma and presidential elections in the state. The former president was apparently talking about counties, of which Oklahoma has 77. Trump won all 77 counties in the 2016 and 2020 general election. He was the fourth Republican presidential candidate to do so, after George W. Bush in 2004, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012.

Stitt, a Republican, won reelection last year. Though he received Trump’s endorsement, Stitt did not use that in his campaign ads or other materials. In regard to the U.S. Senate campaign last year to succeed Republican Jim Inhofe, Stitt did not endorse a candidate in the crowded GOP primary, but endorsed Mullin after he won the nomination.

Stitt has had numerous conflicts with Native American tribes in the state.

Donelle Harder, Stitt’s campaign manager and former assistant secretary of state, responded to Trump’s comments on Monday on Twitter, noting the mistake regarding the number of counties and pointing out that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz beat Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary in Oklahoma. Trump finished second that year; Cruz won a majority of the 77 counties in that GOP primary.

Stitt's endorsement of DeSantis comes as another former Trump supporter in Oklahoma, oil company executive Harold Hamm, has donated to GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Stitt's predecessor, Republican Mary Fallin, stayed neutral in the 2016 presidential primary, but endorsed Trump after he clinched the nomination and spoke for him at the national convention that year. Fallin interviewed with Trump for a Cabinet post but was not selected.

Trump held a campaign rally in Tulsa in June, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, and praised Stitt for opening the state up quickly after brief lockdowns.

“They’ve done a great job with COVID, as you know, in the state of Oklahoma,” Trump told reporters then.

Stitt met with Trump at the White House the week before the 2020 rally and was at the airport ahead of Trump's arrival.

Trump returned to Tulsa in March, attending a wrestling match with Mullin.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Donald Trump blasts Gov. Kevin Stitt for endorsing Ron DeSantis