Posted on 12/29/2015 8:00:04 AM PST by conservativejoy
Sure, Trump and Co. think Trey Gowdy's a 'loser' now,but about two months ago the candidate and his spokeswoman were singing the Benghazi chairman's praises.
Donald Trump found a new least-favorite person this weekend: Rep. Trey Gowdy, after it appeared the Benghazi Committee chairman was set to endorse Marco Rubio.
But Gowdy, the chairman of the House Benghazi Committee, wasn't always on the outs with the mogul and his team. In fact, just a few months ago Trump and his spokeswoman Katrina Pierson were fawning over Gowdy and his leadership abilities.
Rubio endorsement aside, Gowdy is an odd target for Trump,he's adored by the right for his finger-waving interrogations of Obama administration officials, including Hillary Clinton. But what might make things more awkward in Trump world is that his top spokesperson used to be one of Gowdy's most vocal,and, allegedly, opportunistic,boosters.
Before signing on with Trump as national spokeswoman, Pierson was the face of the Tea Party Leadership Fund,a widely derided, so-called scam PAC,that existed largely to cull donations from naive old people by sending out frantic emails about the impact their $25 emergency donation could have on the wellbeing of the Constitution. The Leadership Fund also rents their email list to companies that sell survival food (sample subject line: "FEMA Hates This"). Pierson didn't respond to a request for comment.
On Oct. 6 Pierson blasted out an email to the group's list saying that if only a few good patriots could cough up the cash, Trey Gowdy might be persuaded to run for Speaker.
"Congressmen Gowdy is well known for standing strong on principle, despite the mainstream media or public opinion,these qualities will make him an excellent Speaker of the House and would return the House GOP to a strong position," Pierson wrote.
"Gowdy hasn't back down to the political elites on Benghazi. AND I'm willing to say he wouldn't have compromised and capitulated to Barack Obama like John Boehner did to the last," she added, urging email recipients to sign a Draft Gowdy petition.
"Once you've signed, donate $25 or more and make sure we get this petition in front of another 10,000 Americans," Pierson wrote.
Gowdy, by the way, was never going to be Speaker. He reiterated and reiterated that he has zero interest in that leadership role and publically backed now-Speaker Paul Ryan, despite the cartoon hearts shooting out of Tea Partiers' eyeballs (and cartoon dollar signs shooting out of eyeballs at the Tea Party Leadership Fund). It wasn't going to happen. Nobody serious thought it was going to happen. But that didn't stop Pierson's group from hitting up activists for cash.
Pierson blasted out another Gowdy-for-speaker Valentine on Oct. 26, drawing criticism from the conservative site RedState.
"The worst part is what they're doing is perfectly legal. Which makes it all that much more cowardly," wrote blogger Jay Caruso, dubbing the group "bogus."
But now that Gowdy is no longer useful for raising emergency contributions of $25, Team Trump is talking about him in extraordinarily different terms; in fact, the mogul himself made a quick pivot as soon as word got out about the endorsement—even calling him a "Benghazi loser."
"Congressmen Gowdy is well known for standing strong on principle, despite the mainstream media or public opinion," Pierson said in October.
Trump, as you might imagine, has long been keenly interested in the 2012 attack on the Benghazi consulate. He appeared on Fox and Friends a few weeks after the attack to discuss whether he would have fired someone over "Benghazi-gate." So when then-Speaker John Boehner put in place a special Congressional committee to investigate the attack and made Gowdy its chair, Trump tweeted his delight.
And after Gowdy questioned Clinton at the committee's first public hearing, Trump called him "a terrific guy," according to Politico.
But after news of the congressman's impending Rubio endorsement leaked, Trump manually retweeted a tweet calling the congressman a "Benghazi loser."
"Face it, Trey Gowdy failed miserably on Benghazi," reads another Trump tweet. "He allowed it to drag out and in the end, let Hillary get away with murder."
No word yet if you can help stop her from getting away with homicide if you sign a petition and chip in just $25, $35, or $45.
Didn’t Trump name Gowdy as a possible Attorney General a few weeks ago?
I think Trump lost respect for Gowdy when Gowdy let Hillary escape from the Benghazi investigation.
Personally, I’ve seen and heard a lot here about Gowdy. Benghazi was over three years ago and where are we with the investigations? Where are we with the accompanying emails surrounding Hillary’s machinations with respect to it and other State Department and Clinton Foundation business.
I certainly don’t have a favorable opinion of Gowdy. If Trump now decides maybe he’s not the warrior we need, I’m not against it. Especially if Gowdy is now in Rubio’s camp.
exactly
Gowdy is on his way out from what I hear. He doesn’t plan to run again. He also just blew any chance he had of a cabinet post.
Gowdy has always been a member of the GOPe. He is weak on immigration and he was a loyal foot soldier for Boener, which is why he got lucrative committee assignments. Boehner was forced to set up the Benghazi committee so he appointed Gowdy to whitewash the findings. McConnell, Reid, Pelosi, and Boehner were all briefed beforehand on the establishment of the diplomatic mission in Benghazi and its purpose. They don’t want this information to be revealed. Gowdy will see that it doesn’t.
Gowdy failed in the Benghazi hearings. Then he endorsed Rubio. No time for losers. You’re fired.
Agreed. He failed all right at putting Hillary in an orange jump suit. Wasted a whole lot of time too.
Gowdy let his RINO hair down. He can burn.
Anyone deny that Gowdy dropped the Benghazi ball? High potential of reaching the truth. Pitiful outcome.
I think of him as a white Bob Barr.
Bob Barr was the Republican committee chairman who failed to get Clintoon impeached or really do him any meaningful harm.
After he left Congress, he went to work for The ACLU.
Ever since, I've wondered if the fix was in the whole time.
Not ready to put Gowdy in the same box as Barr, but I see what Trump is getting at. Gowdy's indignation regarding Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi SOUND convincing, but, by and large, Hitlery is getting away with, if not murder, at least dereliction of duty.
But, hey, what difference at this point does it make?
Am I right, Trey? Up high!
Exactly, Trey just went from hard-nosed prosecutor to kabuki theater star.
The Arlen Spector (Ruby Ridge) of our time.
Thanks for nothing Trey.
Gowdy has a flair for the dramatic, so he fooled a lot of people.
I’ve known for a while that he was hiding his Cheap Labor Express affiliation.
He’s another cheap labor importer and has removed all doubt with his endorsement of Amnesty Boy.
I don’t know all that much about him, frankly. But I do he’s had control of a committee that could have made a butt load of waves for Obama and Hillary on Benghazi in getting to the truth - and he DID NOT.
`Gowdy failed in the Benghazi hearings. Then he endorsed Rubio. No time for losers. You’re fired.`
If Trump tweeted that himself, I couldn`t tell the difference.
Gowdy had most people fooled. Trump and a lot of folks here.
Gowdy is GOPe as they come. He just hid it well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.