Sen. Cory Gardner (right) departs Air Force One behind President Trump in 2018.
In the fall of 2016, back when it was still inconceivable to most people that Donald J. Trump might actually end up as the President of the United States, it wasn’t hard to find a Republican seeking distance between themselves and the Republican nominee for President. Media outlets often referred to these Republican politicians as “Never Trumpers.”
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) was one of these “Never Trumpers.” Gardner called for Trump to drop out of the race for President following the release of the infamous “Access Hollywood.” Not only did Gardner pull his support of Trump — he didn’t even vote for him. Gardner has repeatedly said that he wrote in the name “Mike Pence” on his 2016 ballot rather than vote for Trump.
Naturally, Gardner has now formally endorsed President Trump for re-election in 2020.
As IJR.com reports, Gardner is completely onboard with a second term:
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), another Republican senator who vocally opposed Trump in 2016, told IJR that he’s endorsing the president now because it’s the “right thing to do for Colorado.”
“Look, there are things here — look, I’ve made it very clear that where I agree with the president, we will agree or where I disagree, we will disagree,” Gardner told IJR. “But I’m going to fight like hell for Colorado, and we’ve done some good things for Colorado.
“I know what Kamala Harris and I know what Bernie Sanders will do to Colorado, and that’s why I’ll be supporting the president,” Gardner added.
Gardner called for Trump to step aside in 2016 and said the only way Republicans would defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton “is with a new nominee that reflects the values of our country and our party.”
“I cannot and will not support someone who brags about degrading and assaulting women.”
— Sen. Cory Gardner, Oct. 8, 2016
Supporting the President in 2020 is “the right thing to do for Colorado.”
— Sen. Cory Gardner, Jan. 30, 2019
As we discussed on Tuesday, a new poll from Keating Research shows just how out-of-tune Trump and Gardner have become with Colorado voters; both politicians own an approval rating of just 39%. Gardner’s poll numbers in Colorado have been in the toilet since 2016, and even his base is leaving him; conservative columnists see right through Gardner’s attempts at appearing to be “bipartisan.”
When Gardner was shown departing Air Force One right behind President Trump in August 2018, he gave up any pretense of separation with Trump. Formally endorsing Trump’s re-election now is a bit odd, however, considering that we don’t yet know the results of the Mueller Investigation and Americans are still angry about the government shutdown. Gardner will now be expected to stand alongside Trump whenever the President campaigns in Colorado, which is a hell of an albatross for any politician.
Perhaps Gardner feels that he needs to make a public endorsement in order to stave off any potential primary opponents, because this move certainly won’t help him with a general electorate in Colorado.
Trump/Pence/Gardner '20 … Are we tired of winning yet?
Cory isn't just drinking the Kool-Aid, he dove head first into a vat of it.
The real question is: who is the Republican senator who vocally opposes Trump with which Cory was chatting?
Flavor-Aid, not Kool-Aid. Know your history.
Where is the Dimocrat dark money?
They should running ads now tying the Koch Sucker to The Dumpster®.
After Cory's endorsement of the Orange shit stain the Democratic party leaders are jumping for joy, because this senate seat will be turning Blue in 2020 and they won't have to spend nearly as much in order to flip the seat.
Depends on who the Dems nominate. If the Dem nominee is a middle of the road centrist, good chance of unseating Cory. If the nominee is a flaming far lefty, all bets are off. It is possible, you know, for voters to split their tickets.
All in all, not sure now if I would support Cory, as the Trump turd definitely has to go away next year.
Are you thinking of that nice, young centrist Andrew Romanoff? Give us some examples of "centrists" who could win.
The problem with conservative voices on this site is they never say what "centrist" is. Well they never really explain what they mean by "far left"or "conservative", either. Maybe they are just words to throw around like mud on the wall.
If political ideology has two axes: Economic (Social insurance & Pocket book issues), and Cultural (Lifestyles & Personal freedoms), where is the center?
What about the third axis: Capitalist corruption, i.e. the power of Corporations and the super-wealthy.
To take one example:
We all know that Social Security is a far-left, socialist program, the thin edge of the wedge to totalitarianism (Saint Ronnie told us so).
What is the centrist position on Social Security?
A centrist who could win this seat: Hickenlooper. If he's not still chasing rainbows in Iowa when we pick a Senate nominee.
Is Hick a "centrist"?
Three axes:
(1) Economic
(2) Social Issues
(3) Plutocracy
Yep.
And the main test of who is a centrist s that people who rail about plutocracy ain’t centrists.
Far left is free stuff for everyone.
there are several center-left prospects. Andrew Romanoff is one but he’s probably lost too many races. Mike Johnston is another. Hick is a third.
The Far-Right is free stuff for billionaires.
Very true, Gilpin.
Seems like a strange way to tell voters you want to be a one-term Senator.
And here we thought that Mark Udall had a poorly-thought out re-election strategy in '14. Looks like Gardner is going to outdo that.
Unusual clarity from the man. His historic patterns is to waffle til the very end before supporting what ever piece of crap Republicans are supporting.
Agreed. This probably isn't a long term strategic move. Something imminent must have prompted it. Threat of a primary perhaps, but he's not some cockeyed optimist that thinks he can paddle back to the middle of the river come general election time in 2020. Gotta follow the money…
Probably trying to keep Daryl Glenn off the primary ballot but sucking up to Republican Trumpers won't deliver a GE win. Not to worry though. The Denver Post will 'white' wash his batshit conservative positions so that he will appear to be the man from the middle. Supporting Trump will be portrayed as a necessary evil.
Stay the Course Senator! Some Day, they'll Thank you!
The little weasel . . .
I don’t believe for a second that this endorsement was on behalf of the T/P ticket. Pence is probably highly likely to get trumped (i.e., blamed for all of tRumps failures, and tossed away as a result) in the next two years. Cory MostObsequious is playing to the ego of President Ego . . .
Trump/Gardner 2020 — That’s the ticket!
You're being too kind. I think you will find his picture under "Unscrupulous Toadie" in the dictionary.
Well, he did recently vote against continuing tRump’s government shitdown. So, Corwardly’s now gonna’ assume the position, or live in constant fear of becoming an early morning twitter blizzard victim.
Gardner must be getting some good intel from the Russians to be so confident this far out that Trump will be re-elected. Scary but possible knowing these fools.
You just may be on to something, Dio. Conman Cory is an ambitious little piss-ant.
Holy crap I knew Cory was stupid, I just didn't realize how stupid until after his endorsement the Orange shit stain. Cory had maybe a 20% chance of winning re-election in 2020 it is now down to 0%.
Thank you Cory!
I wonder if Cory is still going to find a way to worry about the North Koreans, since Trump tells us they are no longer a threat.
I can hardly wait to see how our junior senator will react if Trump shuts down the government AGAIN on February 15. Still haven't quite figured out how building a wall is going to be good for Colorado. Is Pueblo the closest site to the border with steel mills? Do they have excess capacity now or can they restart some furnaces? Is molybdenum a key element for making sustainable steel slats?
Pols Big Line still shows Cory at 50% (but falling).
A revision is in order, please.
Looks like an exit strategy to me. Don't think he can shove his head up Trump's a– as much as Dio implies, but a Cabinet position would be a nice way to dodge the whole defeat at the polls thingy in 2020. Then he can go work a private sector gig after Trump loses and go for POTUS himself in '24 or '28.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Gardner's too boring for base Republicans and too cozy with the right wing for everyone else.
Exactly. Gardner is going for the Golden Parachute.
(1) The Republican Party is all-in for Trump, and Gardner can not win the primary without toe-ing the trump line.
(2) He'll shift to claiming moderate views for the general, but never sit down for an interview where he can be held to account. That has worked in the past, but probably not this time. But he also wins if he loses because the Republican lobbying industry is now his oyster.
The idea of Republican "moderates" is just a ploy to win in blue states, which works only if they deceive the voters about their politics. Their mouths produce moderate words, and they "express concerns" about the incivility in Congress, or the possibility of Russian influence, or they hope that Donald Trump doesn't close the government, but they aways come home to Trump in the end,
It would get Gardner out of the Senate. And Governor Polis could appoint his replacement.
You’re probably right, there. Still, you gotta’ admit there’s plenty of room for Cory plus a whole caravan of other little weasels, . . .