Back in August 2015, Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), then a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, was one of the first elected officials in the country to endorse Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy.
At the time, Trump was hosting a political rally at Mobile, AL’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the first of what would be a staple of his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Some of the so-called experts considered him a long shot at the time, but he would go on to win the Republican presidential nomination and the White House.
Moore is hoping history repeats itself by once again endorsing Trump in the very early stages of the 2024 presidential campaign.
During an interview with Mobile, AL radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Moore announced his endorsement and said this time around, the former president was better prepared by having already served in the White House, which made him, in Moore’s estimation, the best candidate for 2024.
“I was actually at Mar-a-Lago last Friday and spent some time with the president,” he said. “I’m going to endorse him, Jeff. That’s actually the first time I’ve said that publicly. It’s because I didn’t know exactly where I was and I had a meeting with him. I sat down. You see a man who was a billionaire, who got elected outside the political realm, came into power, and he survived two sham impeachments, made us a net exporter of energy, secured our southern border — there are so many things that he did. And here’s a man, who all of his friends they came after. They came after him with the two impeachments, and yet he still led. He kept so many of the promises and never mind the three Supreme Court nominees who overturned Roe v. Wade. And for that man to stay and fight for this country — he can ride off. He’s a billionaire. He can go anywhere in the world he wants to and let this nation burn to the ground. Instead, he’s going to stay and fight.”
“And there’s something else — I think that experience level,” Moore continued. “He made a lot of missteps early. He trusted the political people on the Hill to get the job done, and in a lot of ways, they blocked him, some from our own party, unfortunately. Certainly, those on the other side and the media who is in the tank for the DNC. They worked against the man, and yet he delivered on so many things. But he found out a lot. He’s so smart in a lot of ways that he sees now how he needs to lead going forward, where the minefields are. And I don’t care who we send up here — if they’re not a fighter and willing to drain the swamp, then it does not matter if they’ve got an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ behind their name. They cannot truly make a difference.”
“Trump saw those landmines, and I think he stepped on a few of them, to say the least,” he added. “But he worked his way through. He’s got the wounds but is willing to fight and not ride off into the sunset and watch the nation burn. For that reason, I’m going to come in behind and him, and we’re going to do what we can to get him reelected. Then that paves the way for the next Republican majority, that paves the way for the next Republican in the White House. He’s got the experience. He’s a tough man. He’s a fighter. We need to get somebody here to drain the swamp, and hopefully, that will pave the way for great leadership in the future.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor