Trump personally called Rep. Max Miller Monday night and told him “things aren’t looking good,” per three insiders familiar with the call who spoke to Axios. Trump “repeatedly said his reelection would be tough,” per the same sources. This is the private assessment from the president who, publicly, has refrained from criticizing Miller or calling on him to resign, which means Trump has been saying two different things in two different rooms about the same situation, which is the situation.
Miller, who represents Ohio’s 7th Congressional District and is seeking re-election, faces court record allegations that he held a gun to his ex-wife Emily Moreno’s head, beat her, and broke the collarbone of their 2-year-old daughter. He has denied all of it. His denial included the rhetorical question: “If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?” which is the defense that requires a jury to weigh two things simultaneously and which appears to have produced a 13-point collapse in his Polymarket re-election odds from 47% to 34% between Saturday and Sunday.
Emily Moreno is the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, which is the specific family relationship that produced a sitting US senator publicly calling his former son-in-law “increasingly erratic and dangerous” on Sunday and demanding he resign. Multiple GOP senators appeared to support Moreno’s call, per Politico. Trump called Miller privately that same night and said things aren’t looking good. The following morning, Trump said nothing publicly.
The deadline to replace Miller on the Ohio ballot is the end of today. Should Miller suspend his campaign by 5 p.m., a special GOP primary would be held under Ohio state law, which would keep the seat Republican. Should he decline to suspend, the Republican Party will run Miller, who broke his child’s collarbone according to court records he denies, in a November general election three months away.
Trump said things aren’t looking good. The clock expires today.
When the president tells a congressman things aren’t looking good in private and says nothing in public, and the congressman’s odds of winning have collapsed 13 points, what exactly is the phone call for?
Sources
Raw Story: Trump’s secret late-night call to accused lawmaker leaks
