Donald Trump’s case for the presidency is reinforced by the notion that he supports conservative policies and puts Americans’ needs first. This assertion is often undermined by the president’s habit of endorsing establishment candidates who oppose his agenda.
The latest example of this phenomenon came last Thursday when Trump endorsed incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker in Mississippi’s upcoming 2024 GOP Senate primary. Writing on Truth Social, the former president claimed Wicker is “a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Mississippi” and “is a Champion of Conservative Values.” Wicker has served in the Senate since 2007 and, prior to that, starting in 1995, represented Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in the House.
Contrary to Trump’s assertion, Wicker’s track record is hardly that of a rock-solid “conservative.” Within the past several years, Mississippi’s senior senator supported nearly every major omnibus spending bill that’s come across his desk. In the waning weeks of 2022, for example, Wicker was one of 18 Senate Republicans to side with Democrats in advancing a pork-filled, $1.7 trillion spending package that effectively took away any and all leverage the House’s then-incoming Republican majority had over spending issues for most of 2023. That vote came months after Wicker backed a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill funding President Biden’s federal Covid vaccine mandate.
Wicker has regularly supported shipping endless amounts of U.S. taxpayer money to Ukraine. The Mississippi Republican was one of 22 Senate GOPers to help Democrats pass a $95 billion foreign spending package that included funds for (mostly) Ukraine, Israel,
