Rep. Mark Sanford: Trump threatened to back primary challenger against me
WASHINGTON — Against the backdrop of crumbling negotiations over the GOP bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump said last week he wanted to oust incumbent U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in 2018.
The South Carolina Republican told The Post and Courier that Trump chose to convey this message through an intermediary: White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, a former member of the S.C. congressional delegation, co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and a friend.
"'The president asked me to look you square in the eyes and to say that he hoped that you voted ‘no’ on this bill so he could run (a primary challenger) against you in 2018,'" Sanford said Mulvaney told him.
He added that Mulvaney made it clear he did not want to deliver the message but did so at Trump's insistence.
Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/south-carolina-u-s-rep-mark-sanford-trump-threatened-to/article_47e680c2-155e-11e7-883e-5f89fc5a8c7b.html