Donald Trump Jr. is flexing his muscles with Republican leaders on Twitter just like his father, publicly lashing Texas Sen. John Cornyn for defending CIA Director Gina Haspel as speculation swirls that President Trump is poised to fire her.
A fierce advocate for his father, the younger Trump has never hesitated to push back against Republicans critical of the president. But with Trump headed to defeat at the hands of presumptive President-elect Joe Biden, his eldest son has become more vocal in demanding fealty from rank-and-file Republicans. Cornyn, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was Trump Jr.’s latest target after last week bashing Republicans eyeing a 2024 presidential bid for insufficiently backing Trump’s claims of a stolen election.
“Have you or @marcorubio or @senatemajldr actually discussed this with anyone in the Admin. who actually works with [Haspel,] like @DNI_Ratcliffe or @MarkMeadows or @robertcobrien, to get their perspective, or are you just taking a trained liar’s word for it on everything?” Trump Jr. said Tuesday in a tweet directed at Cornyn. (In the post, Trump Jr. referred to Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe; White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien.)
The post was prompted by a Twitter exchange Cornyn had with Republican operative Arthur Schwartz, a Trump ally and close friend of Trump Jr. The president this week fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Haspel is thought to be next on the chopping block. In support, Schwartz tweeted at Cornyn; acting Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco Rubio of Florida; and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who met with Haspel Tuesday:
“Why the hell are Republican senators trying to manipulate @realDonaldTrump into keeping Gina Haspel, who undermines Trump and subverts his agenda at every turn? @JohnCornyn, @marcorubio, @senatemajldr are getting played by a master case officer. What a disgrace,” Schwartz said.
That led to this response from Cornyn, who, unlike some lawmakers, controls his own Twitter account: “Intelligence should not be partisan. Not about manipulation, it is about preserving impartial, nonpartisan information necessary to inform policy makers and so [they] can protect the [U.S.],” Trump Jr. countered with his tweet, which also questioned the judgment of McConnell and Rubio.
Have you or @marcorubio or @senatemajldr actually discussed this with anyone in the Admin. who actually works with her, like @DNI_Ratcliffe or @MarkMeadows or @robertcobrien, to get their perspective, or are you just taking a trained liar’s word for it on everything? https://t.co/jMoccaF60W
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 11, 2020
With Biden poised to take the White House, Trump Jr. is emerging as a possible heir to his father on the national stage.
The 42-year-old is popular with grassroots Republicans, has cultivated close relationships with GOP establishment figures, and is among the party’s most prolific fundraisers. Trump Jr. would be a formidable contender for the GOP nomination if he ran for president in 2024, but he is not waiting for that, or for his father to leave office, to begin exerting influence over Republicans that he has accrued over the past five years.
Republicans in Congress have been hesitant to cross Trump Jr. because they worry that a GOP base still very loyal to Trump might sit on their hands in two, Jan. 5 runoff elections in Georgia that will determine the balance of power in the Senate for the next two years. Congressional Republicans have the same concerns about the midterm elections in 2022.
At the moment, the only figure in a position to outdo Trump Jr. with grassroots Republicans is Trump. The president is signaling that he has no plans to cede de facto leadership of the GOP to his son or anyone else and is leaving open the possibility of running for president again four years from now.
