Trump calls Buck’s decision not to run for reelection a ‘great thing’ for GOP

Former President Trump on Wednesday celebrated Rep. Ken Buck’s (R-Colo.) decision not to run for reelection in 2024, calling him “weak and ineffective.”

“Good news for the Country! Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado, a weak and ineffective Super RINO if there ever was one, announced today that he won’t be running again, which is a great thing for the Republican Party,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

He said the Colorado Republican must have known “he could never win against MAGA.”

Instead, Trump suggested Buck would follow other former lawmakers’ footsteps and look for a job as a media contributor, specifically at a “country-destroying leftwing” news outlet.

“They can have him, and watch their Ratings go down still further,” he said, “if that’s even possible.”

Buck, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, announced Wednesday he would not pursue reelection. In recent years, he has been known for splitting with many members of his party by pushing back on unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen and voting to certify the 2020 election results.

His firm stance against election fraud claims likely contributed to Trump’s opposition to him. The former president won Buck’s district by nearly 19 points in the 2020 election, suggesting the seat would likely remain in Republicans’ control.

Buck, 64, referenced how election denialism has consumed the Republican Party in a video announcement confirming his retirement from the House.

“Too many Republican leaders are lying to America, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system,” he said. “These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans’ confidence in the rule of law.”

The lawmaker has also been critical of the former president and has not said whether he would definitively support him in 2024. He did, however, say in June that he would not support Trump if he were convicted in a criminal trial.

When asked Wednesday who he would vote for if Trump ends up as the GOP nominee, he said it would be a “difficult decision.”

“If it is a Trump-Biden redo, it is something that I’ll have to make that decision at the time,” he said. “But I am not thrilled with either one of those candidates, and we’ll just see what happens down the road.”