SEASIDE PARK, N.J. — Just days after retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was paid to endorse New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea at a campaign event, Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn Jr., took to social media to accuse former President Donald Trump of accepting money in exchange for a political endorsement.
“I wonder how much @Jack4NJ paid the Trump campaign for last night’s endorsement?” Flynn Jr. wrote on X Monday. “A few million is my guess. And yes, politicians pay for endorsements.”
The post came on the heels of a $5,800-per-person fundraiser on the Seaside Park boardwalk, where Gen. Flynn endorsed Spadea in front of a small crowd of about 50 attendees. The event included photo opportunities with both Flynn and Spadea and marked one of the first high-profile campaign events in the GOP primary for New Jersey governor.
Jack Ciattarelli, who received the endorsement dismissed the allegation.
“To suggest that President Trump could be bought is insulting to the President and his political movement,” said Erik Arpert, campaign manager for Ciattarelli. “The President’s statement speaks for itself. He endorsed Jack because Jack is the strongest America First candidate in this race and our only chance to defeat the Democrats in November.”
Trump officially endorsed Spadea’s opponent, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, drawing criticism from Flynn Jr. and highlighting a rift between Trump’s inner circle and the Flynns, once seen as closely aligned with the former president.
Flynn’s 2017 resignation and legal troubles
Michael Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Obama, was one of Trump’s earliest national security advisers and played a prominent role in his 2016 campaign. Shortly after Trump took office, Flynn was appointed National Security Adviser but resigned just 24 days into the role — the shortest tenure in the position’s history.
His resignation followed revelations that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials about the nature of his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition period between the Obama and Trump administrations. Flynn initially denied discussing sanctions with Kislyak, a claim later proven false by intercepted communications.
Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about those discussions, though he later attempted to withdraw the plea, claiming he had been entrapped. He was ultimately pardoned by President Trump in November 2020, shortly before leaving office.
Flynn remains out of formal Trump 2024 campaign roles
Despite the pardon and continued appearances at right-wing events, Flynn has not been given a formal role in Trump’s 2024 campaign operation. He remains a figure on the conservative speaking circuit, often appearing at rallies and conferences focused on election fraud claims and anti-government sentiment.
Trump has so far not reinstalled Flynn into his political apparatus, even as other loyalists from his first term have resurfaced in campaign roles. The decision is seen as a result of both legal baggage and internal divisions among Trump allies over Flynn’s increasingly controversial public positions and fringe affiliations.
Flynn has repeatedly called for military intervention in U.S. elections and has supported conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 and the 2020 election, positions that have made him a lightning rod even within the broader MAGA movement.
Spadea campaign silent on Flynn Jr. comments
Neither Bill Spadea’s campaign nor Gen. Flynn have responded publicly to Michael Flynn Jr.’s claim that Trump’s endorsement of Ciattarelli was financially motivated. The Trump campaign also did not issue a statement on the matter.
Flynn, Jr. did not provide any evidence to support his allegation.
We attempted to reach out to General Flynn for comment, but he has blocked Shore News Network on social media platforms.
