Former President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he has not endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey of California because the ex-MLB star has not reached out.
Speaking with reporters in Los Angeles, Trump was asked why he has yet to back Garvey, who is running to fill the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat in November.
“I don’t know much about Steve Garvey,” Trump said in response, per a report from KTLA. “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.”
When asked if Garvey had asked Trump for his endorsement, the former president said, “I haven’t spoken to him.”
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“I’m hearing he wants the MAGA endorsement, but he’s got to call me,” Trump said. “But if he had MAGA endorsement, he could win. If he had an honest election, he’d win. But you don’t have an honest election.”
Garvey, the former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres first baseman who was a 10-time All-Star, 1974 National League MVP and 1981 World Series winner, is running against Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, who has held a clear lead in polling.
In a poll by Emerson College conducted from September 3 to September 5, Schiff was leading the race by 22 points (55 percent to 33 percent). RealClearPolling found Schiff ahead by 24.3 points on average across polling.
Garvey, nicknamed Mr. Clean in his playing days, said in a statement to Newsweek on Friday that “Since Day One, I’ve ran a different type of campaign, I have not taken or asked for a single political endorsement, the only endorsements I want are from the law enforcement community and 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,” the statement continued. “I’m running a ‘Steve Garvey’ campaign for all the people of California, not for partisan or special interests.”
Garvey supported Trump in 2016, and he told KTLA in July that he would vote for Trump in November as of “right now.”
Schiff has been a public critic of Trump for years. The Democrat was the lead impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2019, and served as a member of the January 6 House committee that investigated Trump’s actions surrounding the 2021 siege on the U.S. Capitol waged by supporters of the former president.
Trump has previously attacked Schiff, including giving him nicknames like “shifty Schiff” and “Liddle’ Adam Schiff.”
“You have one of the sleaziest politicians in history,” the GOP presidential nominee said to reporters on Friday. “And to think he’s going to be senator, that’s why you need me as president.”