Why Trump’s false claims about the power of his endorsement matter

For years, Donald Trump has described a scenario that’s automatic: The president tells GOP primary voters who to vote for, and they obey his directions. It’s a particular point of pride for the Republican, one he emphasized during his latest radio interview on “The Scott Jennings Show.” He boasted:

It would certainly be impressive if that were true. But it’s not even close to being true.

Trump might not be cable to “think of anyone” in GOP politics who fell short after receiving his endorsement, but as it happens, I can give him a hand.

In fact, while the president has long padded his win-loss record with support for GOP incumbents who have faced little to no opposition, creating an exaggerated picture, plenty of Trump-backed candidates have fallen short in recent years, including in the 2024 cycle.

Around this time last year, for example, he backed a candidate in the Republicans’ U.S. Senate primary in New Jersey. She lost. Soon after, despite the former president’s confidence in the potency of his support, his choice in Indiana’s lieutenant governor’s race also flopped.

Soon after, Trump-backed candidates also lost in Utah’s U.S. Senate primary, as well as GOP congressional primaries in Colorado and South Carolina.

That was just last year. Plenty of other Republicans lost their primary races after receiving Trump’s endorsement in previous years.

This is not to say that Trump’s endorsement is irrelevant. There’s ample evidence to the contrary. But to hear the president tell it, the power of his endorsement is supposed to be — indeed, it must be — the stuff of legend.

In 2021, for example, he commented on the Republicans who beg for in-person meetings, where they plead for his electoral support, marveling at his self-professed power.

“We have had so many, and so many are coming in,” Trump said. “It’s been pretty amazing. You see the numbers. They need the endorsement. I don’t say this in a braggadocious way, but if they don’t get the endorsement, they don’t win.”

Except, as we’ve seen many times, that’s not true — which should send a message to Republicans everywhere about the need — or lack thereof — to kiss his ring.

GOP officials and candidates are supposed to tremble in fear at the very idea of losing favor with him because his all-powerful endorsement is the key to unlocking electoral success. It’s the kind of thinking that keeps congressional Republicans in line, too afraid of what he’d to their careers if they dare to defy him.

But what the party needs to understand is that the myth isn’t true, no matter how many times he pretends otherwise. The more GOP officials and candidates acknowledge that reality, the less they’ll feel the need to sacrifice their dignity to satisfy Trump’s whims.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.