Donald Trump is keeping a careful watch on who in GOP leadership has endorsed him, even before he has officially announced he is running for president again
Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Trump’s preemptive attack on two promising potential 2024 Republican challengers — DeSantis and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia — is also exacerbating tensions with fellow Republicans. Since the election, Trump has publicly mocked Youngkin’s name and attacked “Ron Desanctimonious” as insufficiently loyal.

Both men won battleground races for governor in the last two years.

“I don’t understand why he’s going after DeSantis,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus. “He’s basically carrying out Trump’s policies. Look what he’s done in Florida. That’s the only state where we had a red day. They’re in lockstep policies.”

Congressional Republicans were slow to embrace Trump during the 2016 cycle, but by the time he was running for re-election, almost the entire party was behind him. This time Trump starts out somewhere in between — and even those who back him aren’t bending to his every whim.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said he would support Trump, but that he also backs McConnell as GOP leader.

“Is that an oxymoron?” Tuberville asked rhetorically, referring to the long-running bad blood between the two men. “Everybody’s got their opinion. As I just said, I represent Alabama.”