Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said ex-Maryland Governor and Republican nominee for Senate Larry Hogan "doesn’t deserve the respect" of anyone in the GOP in a new interview.
Hogan, a moderate vying to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin in blue-state Maryland, last week urged Americans to "respect the verdict and the legal process" regardless of the outcome of former President Trump’s trial. The comment irked many Republicans and Lara Trump – the former president’s daughter-in-law – was asked if the RNC supported Hogan’s Senate bid after his remarks.
"I don’t support what he just said there. I think it’s ridiculous, and I think anybody who is not speaking up in the face of … a trial that would never have been brought against any other person aside from Donald Trump doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone," she said Sunday on CNN.
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"He doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and quite frankly, anybody in America, if that’s the way you feel," she continued. "That’s very upsetting to hear that."
CNN host Kasie Hunt asked if that means the RNC is willing to cede the Senate seat in Maryland to Democrats instead of supporting Hogan.
"We, of course, want to win, as a party, but that is a shame and I think he should have thought long and hard before he said that publicly," Lara Trump said, adding that she isn’t sure if RNC resources will be used to help Hogan.
"As the Republican Party co-chair, I think he should have never of said something like that," she added. "I think that’s ridiculous."
Her remarks raised eyebrows given the significance of the Maryland race to winning the Senate majority in the 2024 congressional elections. A Republican in a blue state, Hogan was elected to two terms as governor, serving from 2015 to 2023. His victory in the Senate GOP primary turned what was viewed as a likely Democratic hold this year into a competitive general election race.
Maryland hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 and hasn't elected a Republican U.S. Senator since 1980.
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Senior Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita responded to Hogan's X post last week, "You just ended your campaign."
Hogan has been critical of the former president and said earlier this year he wouldn't vote for him in 2024.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree on Thursday after two days of jury deliberations in New York. The charges were related to a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, who says she was paid to remain silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006, which Trump denies.
Fox News Digital’s Brianna Herlihy and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
