In what appears to be a first, Donald Trump has endorsed both top Republicans in the Arizona House primary, where they face each other.
“Both will be spectacular, and I am pleased to announce that both Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh have my full and complete endorsement to be the next Congressman for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. THEY WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, had already found themselves on opposite sides in the contentious Arizona primary.
Trump originally supported Hamadeh, while Vance has always backed Masters.
Hamadeh and Masters have become bitter rivals since they both ran unsuccessfully on the same ticket in 2022: Hamadeh for attorney general and Masters for the Senate.
In what appears to be a first, Donald Trump has endorsed both top Republicans in an Arizona House primary in which they compete against each other.
Triumph ordered Masters not to run This time, she ran for Senate again to make way for Kari Lake, and he agreed. Masters, by contrast, focused on the House race for the 8th District, and this time Trump threw his full force at her before Sunday’s seat change.
“Blake Masters is a very successful businessman and an incredibly strong advocate for our Movement to Make America Great Again. He is smart and strong! Likewise, Abe Hamadeh, a veteran, former prosecutor and courageous fighter for election integrity, has been with me every step of the way,” Trump said.
The endorsement came just after Trump praised cryptocurrencies at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Vance is scheduled to hold a rally in the Arizona district on Wednesday, the day after the primary. A source familiar with the campaign questioned whether Trump was afraid that Vance’s political influence would outstrip his own.
Vance and Masters share a connection through billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
Masters served as chief operating officer of Thiel Capital until 2022, when he stepped down to focus on the Senate bid. But FEC disclosures show that Thiel paid Masters an exorbitant $25 million as a bonus last year. The form says the payment was part of a five-year plan agreed to in 2018.
Thiel, who donated $10 million to Masters’ failed 2022 Senate bid, declined to make political donations this cycle. Trump reportedly called him a “fucking scumbag” to Masters after the former president called Thiel to ask him to donate $10 million to his 2024 campaign.
Meanwhile, Thiel served as a mentor to Vance, supported his venture capital firm, donated more than $15 million to his Senate campaign and helped him secure other high-profile donors.
While he has yet to commit any more money this cycle, Thiel appears to be warming to Trump’s candidacy.
Masters has sparked controversy by leaning into Vance’s “childless cat lady” comments.
“Political leaders should have children. And of course they should be married,” Masters wrote in X. “If you don’t or can’t head a household, how can you relate to a constituency of families or govern wisely with respect to future generations? The risk is significant.”
Masters has directed the same criticism at Hamadeh, who is single, contrasting him with Masters himself, who has a “wonderful wife and four beautiful children.”
Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, had already found themselves on opposite sides in the contentious Arizona primary.
Vance told Tucker Carlson in a 2021 interview that the United States is run “by Democrats, by our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of cat-loving women with no children.”
A former member of Congress who offered a staffer $5 million to have his child and a local lawmaker who made pro-Hitler claims are also among the colorful candidates vying for the seat to replace retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko.
Masters has also attacked Hamadeh for being the son of Syrian immigrants and for being Muslim.
“Dishonest Abe supported Chuck Schumer’s amnesty bill, perhaps because Abe’s parents were illegal immigrants,” a Masters ad read. “Dishonest Abe said women have the right to abort their babies. Dishonest Abe supported cuts to Social Security, Medicare and the military. Dishonest Abe said America was founded on Islamic principles. He even said Israel was behind 9/11.”
The video shows images of Hamadeh with minarets around him in Mecca, wearing an Ihram.