Former US President Donald Trump has endorsed “ERIC” without specifying which one ahead of Missouri’s Republican primary election for a US Senate seat to replace retiring Senator Roy Blunt.
There are two GOP front-runners named Eric in the race, including former Missouri governor Eric Greitens and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Comedian Eric McElroy is also running, but he is seen by many as a long-shot contender.
“We need a person who will not back down to the Radical Left Lunatics who are destroying our country. I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump pointed out in a statement sent via his Save America PAC on Monday night.
When reached for comment by NBC News, Trump’s team declined to elaborate, saying only that the “endorsement speaks for itself.”
Both front-runners quickly claimed the 45th US president’s full support following his statement, with Schmitt tweeting that he is “grateful for President Trump’s endorsement.”
“As the only America First candidate who has actually fought for election integrity, border security and against the Left’s indoctrination of our kids – I’ll take that fight to the Senate to SAVE AMERICA!”, the state attorney general added.
Greitens, for his part, noted on his Twitter page that he was “honored to receive President Trump’s endorsement,” adding, “From the beginning, I’ve been the true MAGA [Make America Great Again] Champion fighting against the RINO [Republican In Name Only] establishment backing Schmitt.”
The ex-Missouri governor also argued that he “just had a GREAT phone call with President Trump” and “thanked him for his support.” According to Greitens, “together we will MAGA & Save America!”
Schmitt and Greitens have traded frontrunner status over the past several months, even though most recent polls, conducted in particular by Emerson College and the Hill, have indicated that the state attorney general is pulling ahead just before Tuesday's GOP primary.
Greitens came under fire from Republicans and Democrats after his ex-wife accused him of abusing both her and the couple’s children, something that he denies. Some of the alleged abuse occurred during Greitens’s tenure as governor, before he resigned due to a sex scandal involving his then-hairdresser in 2018.