• NV-04: Donald Trump just endorsed former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, a conservative Democrat-turned-Republican, ahead of next week's primary to take on Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford in Nevada's 4th Congressional District. But one diehard Trump fanatic was furious with his decision—and not because of Lee's previous service with the other party.
"Who the hell is advising President Trump on candidate endorsements?" far-right troll Laura Loomer wrote in a tweet that also contained a cringeworthy video an interview Lee did with radio host Brian Shapiro in April.
When Shapiro asked the former mayor, "If [Trump's] a convicted felon, John, will you still support him for president?" Lee struggled to answer.
"That's a good question," Lee responded, before trailing off. "I haven't … That's a hard question, it really really is." Following several seconds of silence, Lee finally said, "I'm not going to answer that question." The audio from the full interview is here, with the relevant portion starting at the 4:05 mark.
While Loomer's clip ended there, Lee continued to try to formulate a response.
I'd have to see what he's convicted of. I really mean it. If I thought he was getting railroaded or something, or if was, I could sense it was evil, that would be one thing. But if there was a legitimate reason why you and I would go to jail for doing the same thing, that makes you really question it.
Loomer concluded her post, "Seriously, whoever is in charge of vetting for Donald Trump is trying to fuck him over. I’m going to tell him, and I’m going to make sure Donald Trump sees this video."
Lee's main intra-party foe, Air Force veteran David Flippo, previously shared the same clip Loomer put on blast, though Trump evidently did not see his post or care. Shapiro did, however, and castigated Flippo as "the same person who refuses to come in studio and answer any questions from me."
Whoever claims the GOP nod next week will face a difficult battle against Horsford in the 4th District, which is based in the northern Las Vegas area but also includes a slice of rural Nevada. Joe Biden carried the constituency 53-45 in 2020, while Horsford claimed reelection by a smaller 52-48 spread two years later.
In those midterms, Major Republican groups spent almost $20 million targeting two neighboring House Democrats, Dina Titus and Susie Lee, but left Horsford alone. This time around, they seem even less optimistic. The Congressional Leadership Fund notably did not book any general election airtime in the Las Vegas media market, which covers all three of their constituencies, as part of its opening $140 million general election reservation.
That stance, of course, could change, and Democrats aren't taking any chances. The House Majority PAC reserved almost $7 million in Las Vegas two months ago. As we've written before, however, we won't know which Nevada incumbent—or incumbents—HMP is seeking to protect until ads actually start airing.