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Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan continued his full-on sprint away from Donald Trump and his presidential campaign Thursday by awkwardly trying to reject the former president’s endorsement in his U.S. Senate race.
Hogan is smart enough to know that Trump’s name hasn’t been particularly popular in Maryland, especially considering Trump’s disgusting comments about Baltimore in 2019. And Hogan has received acerbic responses from the Trump campaign and its supporters over his previous efforts to show his independence from the MAGA movement — particularly after his comments encouraging Americans to “respect the verdict” after Trump was convicted in his hush money case in New York.
But Trump made it clear last week that he’d like to see Hogan win. It was music to Democrats’ ears. And if the new ad Hogan dropped — called “Independent Leadership” — is any sign, Trump’s endorsement clearly has Hogan and his campaign playing defense.
This became all the more obvious when Hogan was asked Thursday whether he rejects Trump’s endorsement. His evasive answer to WTOP reporter Nick Iannelli spoke volumes:
Well, I just said I didn’t seek it. I didn’t want to have it, and I have no interest in it. It’s not something we’re going to be promoting — that’s for sure. In a state that Donald Trump lost by 33 points, it doesn’t really carry a lot of voters over to our cause. So I don’t think we’re going to have any interest in accepting it.
Some brutal honesty from Hogan there, though I don’t think he understands how endorsements work.
Whether or not a candidate accepts one isn’t as important as where the endorsement is coming from and why it’s being offered. In this case, Trump literally said that he wants Hogan to win because he hopes the former governor will be part of a GOP majority supportive of the MAGA agenda — which happens to be full of antidemocratic policy goals. And that belief is justifiable on Trump’s part.
Still, Hogan knows Trump’s brand is toxic in Maryland. And it’s pretty comical to watch him in a full-on public sprint away from the MAGA brand.