Trump endorses GOP House candidate by plagiarizing himself

Donald Trump will travel to North Carolina on Monday to campaign for Republican House candidate Dan Bishop, ahead of Tuesday’s special election for the state’s vacant 9th Congressional District seat.

In anticipation of his visit, Trump tweeted his support for the anti-LGBTQ extremist, using some very familiar language.

“Looking forward to being in the North Carolina tomorrow night,” he wrote. “We’re having a BIG RALLY for a great guy, Dan Bishop. Strong on Crime, Borders, your Military and our Vets, we need Dan Bishop in Washington badly. His opponent is WEAK on Crime, Borders, and against your 2nd A.”

Looking forward to being in the North Carolina tomorrow night. We’re having a BIG RALLY for a great guy, Dan Bishop. Strong on Crime, Borders, your Military and our Vets, we need Dan Bishop in Washington badly. His opponent is WEAK on Crime, Borders, and against your 2nd A.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2019

It is nothing new for Trump to praise a GOP candidate — especially one he barely knows — as “strong” on crime, borders, military, veterans, and the Second Amendment. He has used almost this exact wording to describe North Carolina 3rd District candidate Greg Murphy, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner,  Ohio Rep. Troy Balderson, Pennsylvania Rep. Fred Keller, then-New York Rep. John Faso, appointed Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, then-Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder, unsuccessful California congressional hopeful Diane Harkey, then-Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, perennial Nevada candidate Danny Tarkanian, and many others.

What makes this latest generic endorsement especially curious is that Bishop does not actually mention crime at all on his campaign website. His issues page notes his beliefs that “Christian values” are what “made America great,” and that voter suppression laws are “common sense,” but say nothing about fighting crime.

Democratic nominee Dan McCready’s campaign website, by contrast, does include a full section on “Keeping our Families Safe,” as well as his plans for how to secure the border, advocate for veterans, and serve military families. Unlike Bishop and Trump, McCready is a veteran, having served in the United States Marine Corps.

In response to Trump’s tweet on Sunday advertising the pro-Bishop rally, McCready answered that he would “have to pass” on attending because he was already signed up for a get-out-the-vote shift with “fellow veterans.”

Bishop is best known as the leading proponent of North Carolina’s HB2, the infamous 2016 law that prohibited local LGBTQ non-discrimination laws and banned transgender people from using their the bathrooms associated with their gender identity. He compared his efforts to Oskar Schindler. Bishop was also an early investor in Gab, an online home for white supremacists.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday, Bishop admitted that he “absolutely” needed Trump’s rally to have a chance to win.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.