Donald Trump is onto Evan McMullin, his conservative opponent mounting a strong Independent bid in Utah.
The former CIA agent is polling ahead of Trump as well as Hillary Clinton in the unexpected battleground state that hasn’t voted for anyone but a Republican since 1964. And Donald Trump has noticed.
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In an interview on Fox News with Bret Baier, Trump finally let the world know how he feels about McMullin, noting that he’s a “puppet” of Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol.
“I love the people of Utah. I have great relationships in Utah,” Trump said. “But you have a guy named Bill Kristol who’s called it wrong for two years. He’s a loser. He’s called me wrong. He’s called everything wrong. He’s called the wars wrong. Everything he does is wrong. He gets his puppet to go and run in Utah. The guy takes votes away from me.”
Trump continued, “He’s going from coffee shop to coffee shop. It’s a full-time thing. He can’t do anything. But he hurts us in Utah.”
His running mate Mike Pence even opined on McMullin, saying, “Nobody ever heard of him.”
McMullin wouldn’t stand idly by as Trump finally took notice of the opportunity he might lose in Utah. The conservative Mormon candidate took to Twitter to lay the wood on Trump.
.@realDonaldTrump, it’s time for a new conservative movement & generation of leadership. We are building it. #McMullinFinn
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) October 30, 2016
While Utah only has six electoral votes, a McMullin win in the Beehive state could not only change history’s view of 2016, but it could actually make him president.
If no candidate gets the required 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, members of the House of Representatives will decide our next president. Seeing as how Republicans have the majority in both chambers, there’s a possibility that many may break with the GOP and cast their ballot for McMullin over Trump.
It’s unlikely, but then again, it is 2016.
Watch Trump and Pence’s full interview on Fox News below:
