Former President Donald Trump expressed frustration on Friday that California Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey has yet to seek his endorsement, stressing that without support from the MAGA movement, Garvey’s chances of winning are slim.
Speaking to reporters outside his Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Trump said, “I don’t know much about Steve Garvey. I think he’s made a big mistake because he hasn’t reached out to MAGA.” The former president emphasized that Garvey, a former Major League Baseball star, would need the backing of Trump’s base to stand a chance in the race against Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff. “If he doesn’t have MAGA, he has no chance,” Trump stated.
Trump had been fundraising in California over the course of Thursday and Friday and took the opportunity to criticize Garvey’s campaign strategy. “Well, I haven’t spoken to him,” Trump continued. “I’m hearing he wants the MAGA endorsement, but he’s got to call me. If he had the MAGA endorsement, he could win. If you had an honest election, he’d win, but you don’t have an honest election.”
In response, Garvey told Fox News Digital that he has run a campaign focused on issues rather than political endorsements. “Since day one, I’ve run a different type of campaign,” Garvey said in a statement. “I have not taken or asked for a single political endorsement. The only endorsements I want are from the law enforcement community and first responders.”
Garvey, who has publicly stated that he voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020, reiterated his campaign’s focus on key issues for Californians, saying, “My focus is, and always has been, on the issues that truly matter to Californians — affordability, public safety, securing the border, fixing the homelessness crisis, and restoring California’s leadership.”
Trump’s comments about Garvey come amid his ongoing rivalry with Adam Schiff, whom he has often targeted with sharp criticism. Referring to Schiff, Trump remarked, “He’s one of the sleaziest politicians in history, Crooked Adam Schiff. He’s one of the most disgusting human beings and to think he’s going to be a senator.”
Schiff, who served as the lead impeachment manager during Trump’s first Senate trial, responded to the former president’s comments on social media platform X, writing, “I don’t think he likes me.”
Schiff remains the frontrunner in the race for California’s U.S. Senate seat, which has not been held by a Republican since 1992. The latest Real Clear Politics polling average shows Schiff leading Garvey by a wide margin, 57.3% to 33%.