Former President Trump on Monday lashed out at Colorado Senate hopeful Joe O’Dea in a post through his Truth Social platform, calling the Republican candidate “stupid” after O’Dea said he would campaign against Trump should the former president make another White House run.
“There’s this RINO character in the Great State of Colorado, Joe O’Dea, that is running against the incumbent Democrat for the United States Senate, who is having a good old time saying that he wants to ‘distance’ himself from President Trump, and other slightly nasty things,” Trump said, using the acronym for “Republican in name only.”
“He should look at the Economy, Inflation, Energy Independence, defeating ISIS, the Strongest EVER Border, Great Trade Deals, & much more, before he speaks. MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths. Good luck Joe!” he added.
The Truth Social post came a day after O’Dea said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he would try to boost other Republican presidential candidates against Trump during the 2024 election cycle.
“I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,” O’Dea said during the interview, later adding, “I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now.”
In a statement on Monday in response to Trump’s remarks, O’Dea described himself as “a construction guy, not a politician.”
“President Trump is entitled to his opinion but I’m my own man and I’ll call it like I see it. Another Biden, Trump election will tear this country apart. … DeSantis, Scott, Pompeo or Haley would be better choices,” he said, referring to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R).
“These elections should be focused on Joe Biden’s failures – supercharged inflation, a broken border, rampant crime, a war on American energy – not a rehash of 2020,” O’Dea added. “America needs to move forward.”
Trump has not formally announced a 2024 presidential bid, but it is widely anticipated that he will. Meanwhile, O’Dea is gearing up for an uphill battle against Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in November and has sought to distance himself from the former president and project himself as a centrist, establishment Republican.
A Marist poll released last week showed Bennet leading O’Dea 48 percent to 41 percent among registered voters.
–Al Weaver contributed to this report, which was updated at 2:47 p.m.