The clock was ticking for Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Monday morning. That evening, Iowa caucusgoers would almost certainly deliver a win for former President Donald Trump. Husted hadn’t made an endorsement in the primary; perhaps his friendship with Vivek Ramaswamy gave him pause. Not that any Iowans were waiting to hear whom Husted was backing before making their final choice. But he is preparing to run for governor in two years, and clearly he felt the urgency of making his endorsement before any votes were cast. So with only hours to spare, he presented his endorsement of Trump.
He wasn’t the only GOP politician to scramble under the wire. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida clashed bitterly with Trump when they both ran for president in 2016. Rubio called Trump “a con artist,” Trump called him “Liddle Marco.” On Sunday, Rubio announced that he too was endorsing Trump. If Rubio regretted failing to repay Nikki Haley for endorsing him eight years ago, he didn’t say.
The Trump campaign has made clear that it is watching not only who endorses him, but also when.
Rubio’s endorsement wasn’t even the most humiliating for the person bending the knee; that award must go to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, a member of the House Republican leadership. In last fall’s race to succeed Kevin McCarthy as speaker, Emmer was poised to be the consensus Republican pick — until Trump blasted him as a “Globalist RINO” on social media. “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him,” Trump bragged, and Emmer quickly dropped out of the race. Yet, just after New Year’s, Emmer delivered Trump his endorsement. (A dishonorable mention must go to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx., who endorsed Trump Tuesday night — again backing the man who attacked his father and his wife.)
This support isn’t happening solely on the initiative of these sniveling supplicants. The Trump campaign has made clear that it is watching not only who endorses him, but also when, with more…
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