(RepublicanInformer.com)- Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has long been a target of former President Donald Trump, who considers her one of the worst RINOs in existence.
In campaigning in Alaska for Murkowski’s primary opponent for re-election this weekend, Trump said that Murkowski was actually “worse than a Democrat.”
Murkowski is one of the few Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. Following that decision, the former president has taken direct aim at her — making her one of his primary targets to be unseated in the upcoming midterm elections.
Trump is backing Murkowski’s challenger in the GOP primary, Kelly Tshibaka. In campaigning in Alaska over the weekend, Trump said that Murkowski was a “lousy senator.” In addition to voting to convict Trump, the former president cited her record of opposing one of his nominees for the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as her support for President Joe Biden’s nominee, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Trump said of Murkowski:
“She’s a total creature of the Washington swamp but much worse than that, and a tool of corrupt establishment, the likes of which we’ve never seen. The fake news media loves her.”
For her part, Tshibaka jumped on the back of Murkowski’s support for Jackson as well as voting in favor of the bipartisan gun control bill, saying of her opponent:
“When she visits Alaska, she pretends to be a friend of the Second Amendment, but when she’s in Washington, D.C., she sides with the elites and the insiders and votes against the interests of law-abiding Alaskans. At least Democrat Pat Chesbro is honest about restricting the rights of our citizens, so you know where she stands.”
Among the other issues that Trump has with Murkowski is the fact that she voted in favor of enhanced gun control after mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
Urging the crowd to vote for Tshibaka and unseat Murkowski, Trump said:
“This is your precious chance to dump the horrific RINO Senator Lisa Murkowski, who’s worse than a Democrat. She’s worse than a Democrat.”
Trump has been on Tshibaka’s side for quite a while now. In fact, he endorsed her almost immediately after she announced she would be running against Murkowski, back in 2021. Following her announcement to run, Trump said:
“Murkowski has got to go! Her vote to confirm Biden’s Interior Secretary was a vote to kill long sought for, and approved, [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], and Alaska jobs.
“Kelly Tshibaka is the candidate who can beat Murkowski — and she will. Kelly is a fighter who stands for Alaska values and America First. Kelly is a powerful supporter of the Second Amendment and JOBS! I look forward to campaigning in Alaska for Kelly Tshibaka. Complete and Total Endorsement!”
This race will be a big one not just for Alaska and the candidates but for Trump as well. It’ll go a long way in proving how powerful Trump’s support of a candidate is, even if he’s backing the challenger to an incumbent in a Republican primary
