Amash fires back at Trump over Sanford primary tweet

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) slammed President Trump on Twitter Tuesday afternoon after the president took aim at Amash’s fellow House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) hours before Sanford’s primary election.

In a tweet, the Michigan conservative attacked Trump, whom he said could not compare to Sanford’s “humility in his role and a desire to be a better man.”

.@MarkSanford’s job is to support and defend the Constitution. He’s one of the most principled, consistent, and conservative members of Congress I’ve ever known. And unlike you, Mark has shown humility in his role and a desire to be a better man than he was the day before. https://t.co/zNYKb5WKmH

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) June 12, 2018

Trump’s pointed endorsement of Sanford’s primary challenger Tuesday afternoon rankled House conservatives. In the endorsement, Trump referenced an affair in Argentina that led to the 2010 dissolution of Sanford’s marriage just hours before South Carolina voters went to the polls.

“Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!” the president tweeted.

Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2018

Amash is one of the most vocal House Republicans when it comes to criticism of the president, and last year suggested that he would even be open to supporting Trump’s impeachment over the president’s reported comments to former FBI Director James Comey about the investigation into Michael Flynn.

{mosads}”I think it’s pretty clear I have more confidence in Director Comey [than in the president],” Amash said last year.

Other members of the Freedom Caucus, including the group’s chair, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), also responded to the president’s remarks.

“Mark Sanford has been a valued member of the Freedom Caucus & certainly has been a thoughtful member of congress. I am very supportive of his re-election efforts & passage of the tax reform package would not have been possible without his input,” Meadows said in a statement to NBC News.