Two members of President Donald J. Trump’s national security team endorsed Arizona GOP Senate hopeful Blake Masters in the Aug. 2 primary in a July 5 statement.
“We had the honor of working in President Trump’s administration. We know what America First looks like and what kind of person is needed in Washington, D.C., to fight against the swamp,” said Ric Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and later the acting director of national intelligence, and Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to the defense secretary.
“We are proud to join Donald J. Trump in endorsing Blake Masters, a real America First patriot. Blake is already focused on Democrat Mark Kelly in November,” they said. “He is traveling Arizona talking about the border crisis, Joe Biden’s disastrous economy, high gas prices, and the Left’s takeover of our schools.”
The two men said their endorsement was absolute.
“We are confident that Blake Masters knows the threats that America faces, and he has the talent and the vision to take them on,” Grenell and Patel said. “That is why he has our complete endorsement.”
Masters, who was the president of Thiel Capital, the private investment fund for high-tech billionaire Peter Thiel, said he was thrilled with the endorsement from the two men.
“When it comes to putting America First, Kash and Ric know what they’re talking about. I’m honored to have their support,” the graduate of Stanford University Law School said.
Grenell said he endorsed one of Masters’ primary rivals, solar energy magnate Jim Lamon, but he withdrew his endorsement after Lamon attacked Peter Thiel.
Watch Grenell tell a group of Masters supporters why he unendorsed Lamon and threw his support to Masters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nISzVafrpt8
“I saw some things from the Lamon campaign that I didn’t like,” he said. “I raised my voice, and I’m going to be honest about one thing, I saw within that campaign some negative attacks that were not true.”
The acting director of national intelligence said he spoke up before the Lamon campaign went forward with its attacks on Peter Thiel, but he was ignored as he argued that Thiel was a reformer inside the big tech elite and someone who needed support, not derision.
Masters said he agreed with Grenell.
“Republicans shouldn’t be wasting their money attacking one another,” he said.
“We literally can’t afford it; Kelly is going to be one of the most well-funded Democrats this cycle.
“He is the extension of the corrupt and despicable Clinton-Obama-Biden machine,” he said.
“It’s time for conservatives to unite so that we can kick Mark Kelly out of the Senate in November.”
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Neil W. McCabe is the national political editor of The Star News Network based in Washington. He is an Army Reserve public affairs NCO and an Iraq War veteran. Send him news tips: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter, TruthSocial & GETTR: @ReporterMcCabe
Photo “Blake Masters” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Friends of Richard Grenell” by Richard Grenell. Photo “Kashyap Patel” by U.S. Department of Defense. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
