Former President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t back Steve Garvey unless the Republican candidate in California’s U.S. Senate race first gives him a call.
Trump — following an hour-long press conference where he castigated Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris — told reporters that he has not spoken with Garvey, a former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres MLB player who faces Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in the upcoming election.
“I don’t know much about Steve Garvey,” Trump said. “I think he’s made a big mistake because he hasn’t reached out to MAGA, and if he doesn’t have MAGA, he’s got no chance.”
“I’m hearing he wants the MAGA endorsement, but he’s got to call me,” Trump, who’s vying for a second term in the White House, said.
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Garvey, for his part, has not rushed to align himself with the former president like other Republican candidates — in California or other parts of the country — have done, particularly since Trump was first elected in 2016.
In an interview with Politico earlier this year, Garvey even suggested he was open to voting for President Joe Biden for president. (Since that interview, Biden dropped his re-election effort and Harris was picked to lead the top of the Democratic ticket.)
“Since Day One, I’ve ran a different type of campaign,” Garvey said in a statement through a spokesperson Friday. “I have not taken or asked for a single political endorsement, the only endorsements I want are from the law enforcement community and the first responders.”
“My focus is, and always has been, on the issues that truly matter to Californians — affordability, public safety, securing the border, fixing the homeless crisis and restoring California’s leadership,” Garvey continued. “I’m running a ‘Steve Garvey’ campaign for all the people of California, not for partisan or special interests.”
Trump said he did not “know (Garvey) at all” but still called him a “nice guy.” He suggested that Garvey would not win in California without the “MAGA” endorsement — referring to his base of supporters who adopted the “make America great again” mantra — and alleged without providing evidence that California does not have “honest” elections.
NEWS: Donald Trump tells me why he hasn’t endorsed GOP California Senate candidate Steve Garvey
— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) September 13, 2024
“I think he’s made a big mistake because he hasn’t reached out to MAGA,” Trump says. “If he doesn’t have MAGA, he’s got no chance.” pic.twitter.com/ZKWH0EksTN
Trump also lambasted Schiff, who led one of Democrats’ efforts to impeach Trump when he was still president. Trump called Schiff a “sleaze bag” and “crooked,” the latter one of his favorite nicknames for the Burbank congressman.
“Adam Schiff, to represent this area, is impossible to believe,” said Trump.
Polling shows Schiff with a solid lead over Garvey heading into the final few weeks before ballots are mailed out to registered voters in Califonia in early October, according to RealClearPolitics’ aggregated data.
A spokesperson for Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon, but Schiff’s X (formerly Twitter) account shared a clip of Trump’s comments. “I don’t think he likes me,” the post said.
During his press conference, Trump criticized state and federal leaders for not doing what he said was enough to help residents impacted by the reactivation of an ancient landslide complex on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. He called California a “mess,” decrying the cost of living as well as homelessness and illegal immigration.
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