Former President Trump hit Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) over his endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) 2024 bid Monday after the two governors campaigned together over the weekend.
“Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who I didn’t know very well, called me before his last election to say he was in BIG trouble and very much needed my Endorsement. I LOVE Oklahoma & won 77 out of 77 Counties, something that never happened before,” the former president said on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Ronald Reagan was next with 56. Anyway, I gave him my endorsement, he immediately went way up, and won. Now, despite the fact that DeSanctimonious is losing to Biden, & me, Stitt just endorsed him. Wow! He disliked ‘the Indians’ & my great Senate pick!” the former president continued, appearing to reference Stitt’s working relationship with Indigenous tribes within the state.
Stitt himself is a member of the Cherokee Nation.
Former President George W. Bush won every county in Oklahoma in 2004 and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also won all 77 counties when he ran for president in 2012.
Trump’s remarks follow DeSantis’s visit to the state Saturday when he formally received Stitt’s endorsement.
DeSantis also received an endorsement from former Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Trump’s former NASA administrator, and 20 state lawmakers last week.
“Governor DeSantis is a strong conservative and principled leader, and I am proud to endorse him for president,” Stitt said in a statement.
“As fellow Governors during COVID, DeSantis did not surrender states’ rights and individual liberties over to groupthink,” the governor continued. “In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down in the face of adversity because DeSantis operated with dogged conviction and shared our values for a limited government and free country.”
Trump endorsed Stitt when he ran for governor in 2018. Trump had formally thrown his support behind Stitt two days after he won a runoff election for the GOP primary in the race.