Former President Donald Trump spoke with members of the media in the affluent Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes on Friday, sharing an off-the-cuff assessment of fellow Republican Steve Garvey’s chances of winning California’s open U.S. Senate seat.
When asked by a reporter why he hasn’t endorsed Garvey, Trump said he simply hasn’t been asked.
“He hasn’t reached out to MAGA,” Trump said, referring to his campaign slogan-turned-political movement “Make America Great Again.” “And if he doesn’t have MAGA, he has no chance.”
Trump added that he’s heard Garvey wants his endorsement, but insists he would not offer one until he hears from the former Major League Baseball star personally.
“I haven’t spoken to him,” Trump said. “He got to call me.”
Garvey, 75, faces Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Dianne Feinstein for more than 30 years. Polls have consistently showed Schiff with a substantial lead.
Like Trump during his first campaign for the presidency, Garvey never held public office. His fame came on the baseball diamond as an All-Star first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Since day one, I’ve ran a different type of campaign,” Garvey said in a statement to KTLA 5 News. “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.”
Trump said he believes Garvey would win in November with a MAGA endorsement.
Garvey told KTLA’s John Fenoglio in July that he planned to vote for Trump if the election was “right now,” but that was before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, making way for Vice President Kamala Harris to win the Democratic nomination.
Garvey supported Trump in 2016, which has become a key line of attack on his record by Schiff.
Trump also told reporters Garvey would win “if he had an honest election.”
The former president also blasted Schiff, who led Trump’s first impeachment trial, calling the congressman “one of the most disgusting human beings” and a “sleazebag.”
“To think he’s going to be a Senator,” Trump said. “That’s why you need me as president.”