Here's why president trump has not endorsed nj gop candidate jack ciattarelli for governor

Here’s why President Trump has not endorsed NJ GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli for Governor

by
June 2, 2021
·
2 mins read
President Trump finding it difficult to endorse a candidate who called him charlatan who is unfit to be President, supported by a cast of characters who said Trump supporters should be thrown over the wall.

All-out warfare has been raging in the New Jersey Republican party for over a year and three camps of Republicans are battling it out in the streets to be the ones to challenged Governor Phil Murphy in November.

First, you have the establishment Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli who has the part (swamp) line in every county statewide. You would think this endorsement by GOP leadership would be a no-brainer for President Donald J. Trump’s endorsement, yet here we are, three weeks before one of the most critical primaries in the United States in 2021 and Trump has been silent.

Trump will soon be returning to New Jersey, but he’s not likely to get involved in the New Jersey Republican primary as he has done throughout the country on less important elections.

Why? Trump’s in a bad spot in New Jersey. He cannot back Ciattarelli openly because it would send the wrong message to other Republicans who have defied the former president. Ciattarelli was a well-known “anti-Trump” establishment guy for a long time.

Ahead of Trump’s 2016 election win, Ciattarelli called the President a “Charlatan” who is “Unfit to be president”.

Those words are now biting him as Trump has yet to give the establishment swamp guy his endorsement. If Trump endorses Ciattarelli it would send the message nationwide to the never-Trump crowd that the former President is willing to forgive and forget the actions of his enemies and detractors.

Ciattarelli’s campaign is being managed by fellow Trump denier Chris Russell. Russell has made his opinions about Trump known throughout his campaigns in New Jersey. He makes sure all of his candidates over the years have maintained proper social distancing between themselves and the president he has openly declared, does not represent the values of the Republican party.

His opponent, Hirsh Singh has the Trump crowd behind him and his campaign manager is former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Sources within the Trump circle have indicated the Trump camp is also behind Singh, but it’s not likely that the President will make a formal endorsement, instead, he will keep his hands clean in the New Jersey gubernatorial primary.

In the end, the answer could be as simple as Trump and Murphy have a great relationship inside and outside of politics and Trump sees the writing on the wall in New Jersey ending with a landslide win for Murphy in New Jersey. After all, the President has made his stance clear over the years, he doesn’t back losers.

With the GOP infighting in 2020 coming to a boil in 2021, the entire party is now seen as a party that can’t win in November against a well oiled and well-funded Democrat political machine.

This week, Ciattarelli launched a new attack ad against Singh, promoted by blogger Matt Rooney, a staunch supporter of Ciattarelli. Rooney once blogged that all Trump supporters should be thrown over the border wall, a comment he later apologized for. It’s clear that Ciattarelli’s inner circle of never Trumpers is the reason why the former President is gunshy about backing a candidate in the New Jersey primary.

Trump needs to make an endorsement in the June 8th primary to maintain his credibility with undecided Republicans in one of the country’s most blue states.

Phil Stilton
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Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

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