Trump Blasts Mazi Pilip For Losing Special Election To Replace Santos
Former President Donald Trump has lashed out at Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip (R-Great Neck) for losing the special election to replace George Santos in New York’s third congressional district.
Throughout the campaign, Pilip was cagey when asked questions about Trump. She refused to answer questions about whether or not she voted for Trump in 2020, and she did not directly endorse Trump for the 2024 presidential election. Despite this, she did tell Politico that Trump had done “great things” for the country.
“Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat,” the former president wrote in a Truth Social post. “I have an almost 99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries, and a very good number in the General Elections, as well, but just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America.”
Trump went on to say that if Pilip had endorsed him and leaned into the “MAGA” faction, she’d have won, and that whichever candidate runs against winner Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in November will win if they do so.
Despite these claims, many attributed Trump’s brand of Republican politics to Republicans’ underwhelming performance, at least nationally, in the 2022 midterm elections.
In this particular special election, both Pilip and Suozzi sought to distance themselves from Trump and Biden, respectively, while trying to tie each other to their party’s most recent presidents.
Suozzi defeated Pilip by a margin of 54% to 46%, according to the Associated Press. Given that this district went solidly red in 2022, but solidly blue in 2020, pundits have claimed this special election was a bellwether for the November election.
Related Story: Why AP Declared Tom Suozzi The Winner Of The George Santos Seat: Race Call Explained
