With the Trump family squarely in the camp of J.D. Vance, running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, Donald Trump Jr. shared a video of Vance’s main opponent lying about his involvement with “establishment Republicans.”
“Ohio friends – Meet the real @JoshMandelOhio. The Club for Chinese Growth backed establishment candidate in the #OHSen race,” Trump Jr. said in a Tweet, sharing the video.
Ohio friends – Meet the real @JoshMandelOhio.
The Club for Chinese Growth backed establishment candidate in the #OHSen race. pic.twitter.com/RTZEfGo3i6
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 21, 2022
In the video, Mandel is first depicted describing himself as something of a political outsider, claiming that he is standing up to the “squishy establishment” GOP. He mentions Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) as one of those “squishy” Republicans.
But then the video cuts to a video of Romney endorsing Mandel during the latter’s 2012 run for U.S. Senate in Ohio.
“I appreciate what Governor Romney stands for,” Mandel said at the time.
In 2012, Romney was running for President alongside former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a known hater of former President Donald Trump until his death in 2018.
In the video, McCain is also highlighted.
“His message is that he’s a centrist,” McCain said of Mandel. “I think that Josh has the leadership – the next generation of leadership – that we need very badly.
Former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH), squarely a member of the Republican establishment, is also featured for his ties to Mandel in the video.
“I’m very much for Josh Mandel for the United States Senate,” Kasich said.
“One of the things that’s setting me apart right now is how strongly anti-establishment I am,” Mandel says at the end of the video.
Trump endorsed Vance last week, giving the candidate in the close race a much-needed boost.
“MAGA patriots from across the nation are set to deliver an election landside [sic] for Republicans that will serve as a devastating rebuke of the failures of Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats,” he said in a statement. “In the Great State of Ohio, the candidate most qualified and ready to win in November is J.D. Vance. We cannot play games. It is all about winning!”
Trump Jr. has also spent a great deal of time on the campaign trail, stumping for Vance at events across the state.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Donald Trump, Jr.” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Josh Mandel” by Josh Mandel. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by
Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
