Trump's Screw Up Of J.D. Vance's Name Was No Accident, Says Newsmax Host
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Former President Donald Trump’s spectacular goof up of J.D. Vance’s name at a political rally was no accident, a Newsmax host claimed Monday.
Trump’s expected pitch for Vance at a speech in Nebraska Sunday flopped when he misnamed the candidate he supported.
“We’ve endorsed ... J.P.? Right?” Trump asked, appearing to look to someone offstage from the podium for help while he was addressing the crowd. “J.D. Mandel. And he’s doing great.”
Newsmax host John Bachman said Trump was actually “hedging his bets” when he touted Vance’s close rival Josh Mandel in Tuesday’s GOP Ohio Senate primary.
Mandel, a former Ohio treasurer, didn’t comment about Trump’s intentions on Bachman’s program, but the far-right Republican did insist he was the most Trumpian candidate running.
“As the voters here know, the Trump America-First voters know, there’s no candidate in this race who has advanced the Trump America-First agenda like I have,” said Mandel.
Josh Mandel is asked for his reaction to Trump’s “JD Mandel” endorsement yesterday. Newsmax host says it wasn’t a gaffe, that Trump is just “hedging his bets” by combining their names. pic.twitter.com/1uO5tNL0MK
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) May 2, 2022
Mandel is supported by many Republican leaders, who were stunned when Trump endorsed Vance last month. A venture capitalist and Hillbilly Elegy author, Vance no political experience and has been harshly critical of Trump in the past, reportedly calling him an “idiot” and “America’s Hitler.”
According to the latest polls, Vance leads with an anticipated 26% of the vote, followed by State Sen. Matt Dolan with 22% and Mandel with nearly 21% of the vote.
On Monday, Vance blew off Trump’s blooper, saying the former president was bound to “misspeak” sometimes.
Trump’s initial public endorsement of Vance last month at a political rally in Ohio was hardly over the moon. Near the end of a 90-minute speech, Trump introduced Vance as the man with the “best chance to beat the Democrats in November.”
“And you know what? He’s a guy that said some bad shit about me,” Trump said.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
