Trump lashes out at ‘weak’ Arizona GOP House speaker after fierce criticism

Former president Donald Trump slammed speaker of Arizona’s state house Rusty Bowers after Mr Bowers’ repeated criticisms of the former president.

The former president criticised Mr Bowers on his social media platform Truth Social this week and called on Republican primary voters to vote him out in a GOP primary.

“Remember Arizona, your so-called ‘Speaker,’ Rusty (an appropriate name because he is Rusty, just like steel gets rusty and weak) Bowers, is absolutely terrible,” Mr Trump said. “He is ‘weak’ and wrong on everything, including your horrible Open Border and your pathetic election ‘counting.’ Vote him out!”

Mr Trump’s words come after Mr Bowers testified before the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. During his testimony, he said how he was smeared as being a “a paedophile and a pervert and a corrupt politician, and blaring loudspeakers in my neighbourhood.” Mr Bowers testified that Mr Trump and his allies tried to pressure Mr Bowers to call Arizona’s legislature into session so legislators could de-certify Mr Biden’s victory, which Mr Bowers refused to do.

In response, Mr Trump criticised Mr Bowers at a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Mr Bowers later criticised Mr Trump in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.

“I have thought at times that someone born how he was raised how he was – he has no idea what a hard life is and what people have to go through in real in the real world. He has no idea what courage is, and the last place on Earth that I would want to do evil would be the state of Arizona”, he told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl.

“They rule by thuggery and intimidation. So you know, they found a niche, they found a way and it's fear, and people can use fear, demagogues like to use fear as a weapon. And they weaponise everything, and we all know it. But that's not leadership to me to use thuggery”, he continued.

The Arizona Republican censured Mr Bowers for his testimony before the select committee. Arizona holds its primary on Tuesday 2 August.