Steve Garvey, the Republican candidate in California’s U.S. Senate race, does not appear to be a favorite of former President Donald Trump‘s.
The former president blasted the baseball legend’s lack of political experience and said it would likely hand Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) an easy win next month.
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“He’s running against a guy that doesn’t understand politics at all,” Trump said about Schiff during an interview on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures. “Garvey. He was a good baseball player, but he doesn’t understand politics at all.”
Trump also launched an attack on Schiff, calling him a “lunatic” and a “total sleazebag” who is “going to become a senator.”
The Republican presidential nominee then called Democrats like Schiff and others who have opposed or investigated him “the enemy from within,” describing them as more dangerous to the United States than Russia or China. Schiff was the lead prosecutor in Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial.
Trump added that a “smart president” could handle outside adversaries “pretty easily,” but “the thing that’s tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff.”
“I call him the enemy from within,” he added.
Schiff and Garvey are used to Trump’s verbal jabs. What’s different is that Garvey’s campaign is hanging on by a thread, and Trump’s insults could tank it for good. Schiff will likely use Trump’s words as fuel to drum up even more support.
The former president’s comments to Fox News weren’t the first time he’s gone after Garvey.
Trump told reporters earlier this month that he would not endorse the Dodgers first baseman unless Garvey did a little groveling.
“I don’t know much about Steve Garvey,” Trump said. “I think he’s made a big mistake because he hasn’t reached out to MAGA, and if he doesn’t have MAGA, he’s got no chance.”
Trump said he heard Garvey “wants the MAGA endorsement” but that “he’s got to call me.”
At the same event at the Rancho Palos Verdes golf course, Trump contradicted himself by saying Garvey could win if he got the MAGA nod of approval and then pivoting, saying it would be impossible for him to win because California does not have fair elections.
It’s been a tough go for Garvey, who has run a relatively low-key race, skipping the California Republican Party convention and the Republican National Convention.
He has appeared at some regional festivals and given interviews with local news outlets. He has made a concerted effort to appeal to Latino voters and outraised Schiff during April and June, though his campaign is still hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
Schiff has a 20-point advantage over Garvey, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll from August. Schiff was criticized for helping Garvey get on the general election ballot over Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) because he thought he had a better chance of beating him.
During their first and only debate last week, Schiff painted Garvey as a candidate with no experience in politics and one who should stick to sports.
“While Mr. Garvey was signing baseballs for the last 37 years, I was seeing presidents of both parties and governors of both parties sign my bills into law,” Schiff said.
He also called Garvey a “MAGA mini-me in a baseball uniform.”
Garvey tried to portray Schiff as a career politician who is more interested in his political aspirations than helping Californians.
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“This man hasn’t done anything over the last 24 years on any of these things that have given us any consistency in life,” Garvey said during the hourlong televised debate. He also said Schiff was too obsessed with a personal vendetta against Trump.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Garvey’s campaign for comment on Trump’s Sunday remarks but did not receive a response.
