GOP leader endorses Trump after predicting he'd lose to Biden
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A top Republican is backing former President Donald Trump after he characterized him as a "loser" if he becomes the party's presidential nominee.
On Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) announced he endorsed Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, despite saying for over a year he didn't believe Trump could beat President Joe Biden.
"I do not want to nominate losers, and that is exactly what I believe will occur if Donald Trump is the nominee," Vos said last year. "Why would Republicans pick the one person Joe Biden can beat? That is stupid."
When CBS 58 asked about his previous comments and whether Trump can win Wisconsin, Vos said, "I definitely do."
2024 ELECTION: Vos also said he endorsed Donald Trump after saying last year he "doesn't want to nominate people who can't win/nominate losers."
— Emilee Fannon (@Emilee_Fannon) March 19, 2024
Today, I asked him about that and whether he believes Trump can win Wisconsin. https://t.co/pCVG0oHuFE pic.twitter.com/jm3WBCLf3X
"It's going to be a choice between two men. It's not going to be a choice between what do I think the president should be? What do I think the president shouldn't be?" Vos told reporters after a WisPolitics event.
"It's going to be, do you think the policies that Joe Biden has put in place over the course of the past four years are better for the country, or were times better under Donald Trump, when we actually had low inflation, low taxes, more control at the border?"
Vos has previously said he would possibly vote for Trump if he were the nominee.
For years, Vos has had a contentious relationship with Trump as both have exchanged barbs over investigating and decertifying the 2020 election. Trump and his supporters have blasted the Rochester Republican for not doing enough to decertify Biden's victory, an impossible and illegal task.
Vos did spend over $1 million in taxpayer funds to investigate concerns surrounding the 2020 election, but he ultimately pulled the plug on the effort after firing his investigator who found no evidence of widespread fraud.
Audits, court rulings, recounts, and a review by a conservative group have all confirmed Biden's win in Wisconsin.
Since the fallout, Trump has still caused headaches for Vos by endorsing his primary opponent during the 2022 midterm. It was a race Vos won narrowly to Adam Steen, overcoming a national effort to unseat him.
But that push to oust him has not faded. This year, organizers collected signatures to recall Vos.
Last week, petitions were submitted to the state Election Commission but an initial review by officials determined there were not enough resident signatures to trigger a recall.
Vos called the recall organizers "whack jobs" and "morons" and believes several of the signatures were forged, which is currently being investigated by the Racine County district attorney.