Sen. John Thune to President Trump: Stay Out of Senate Leadership Race

Only days after President Trump’s sweeping victory and the Republican Party’s dominance in taking both the House and Senate, the race for the next Senate Majority Leader is heating up fast.  Senators John Thune (SD), John Cornyn (TX), and Rick Scott (Fl) are all running for the leadership position in the Senate, replacing outgoing Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) who is resigning the position.

As a Texan, let me just say — most of those down here in the Great State of Texas who share my brand of Christian conservatism mixed with a generous helping of libertarianism... we don’t really like John Cornyn, and that’s putting it nicely.  And one glance at John Thune’s record in the House for 7 years and then the Senate for 20 years reveals that he is from the same vein as Cornyn; a RINO through and through, to sum it up.

And the Senator from South Dakota, while remaining soft spoken and very politically diplomatic at the time, basically told President Trump to mind his own business, and leave the Senate to Senators in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.  Watch this:

John Thune on CNBC urges Trump to stay out of the Senate Republican leadership battle: “I think it’s probably in his best interest to stay out of that.” pic.twitter.com/P6CEWK8434

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 7, 2024

According to a report by Just The News, Thune said it would likely be in President Trump’s “best interest” not to get involved in the leadership race.  The report included a reminder that Donald Trump Jr. recently labeled both Cornyn and Thune RINOs, specifically calling for keeping either from ever becoming Senate Leader.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., wants President-elect Donald Trump not to intervene in the election for Senate GOP leader.

Thune said it would be in Trump’s “best interests” to stay neutral in the election, according to a report from The Hill.

Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s son who was heavily involved in Trump’s successful 2024 campaign, once called both Thune and Cornyn RINOs in February.

“RINO Senators John Thune & John Cornyn both want to replace Mitch McConnell, once he finally gets put out to pasture. Both of them also voted to send billions more to Ukraine,” he wrote on X. “MAGA must do everything in our power to stop either of these two RINOs from ever becoming Senate Leader!”

Mike Cernovich was one of many to take to social media on the heels of Thune’s comments, taking the opportunity to bring up Thune’s longstanding allegiance to the establishment — something the MAGA movement has long fought against as a core principle, and is loathe to compromise considering there simply is no need to do so.

The next Senate Majority Leader under President Trump? pic.twitter.com/bhgbCLjAEr

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 8, 2024

This is why John Thune is NOT the right pick for Senate leader @realDonaldTrump: pic.twitter.com/fMi5X1dObm

— @amuse (@amuse) November 8, 2024

Apparently, Senator Thune is “terrified” of President Trump’s possible involvement, according to a Senate Republican aide who spoke to The Hill about the controversy Thune’s comments have stirred up.

Thune in recent days has declared his preference that Trump give Republican senators space to make their own decision about who should lead the new Senate GOP majority, arguing it would be in Trump’s “best interests” to stay neutral.

That argument has been echoed by Thune’s allies, such as Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who told CNN earlier this week that Trump should “stay out of the race.”

Thune’s comments are creating a stir among Senate insiders two days after Trump won a resounding victory over Vice President Harris and helped Republicans regain the Senate majority.

Allies of Thune’s two rivals in the leadership race, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), say that calls for Trump to stay out of the leadership race indicate that Thune is nervous that the president-elect would endorse either Cornyn or Scott — which would be a serious setback.

“He’s terrified. He knows that Trump won’t endorse him. If he knows that, then Trump getting involved hurts him,” a Senate Republican aide said.

Thune’s rivals have a better relationship with Trump, especially Scott, who’s the closest to the president-elect of the three.

Scott represents Trump’s adopted home state of Florida, and as National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman traveled to Mar-a-Lago in April of 2021, when Trump was still something of a pariah among GOP senators, to give him a “Champion of Freedom” award.

The push to support Senator Rick Scott from within President Trump’s MAGA movement is already well underway, and it seems unlikely to me that the Congressional establishment folks will have any success stemming the tide of that wave — the current political climate being what it is.

We all need to support Rick Scott (R-FL) for Senate Majority Leader.

Otherwise, it will be a repeat of 2016 & you’ll have Paul Ryan saboteurs.

Call your Senators & tell them they need to vote for Senator Rick Scott.

We also demand a public vote.

— ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) November 8, 2024

Raise your hand ✋️ if you want Rick Scott over John Thune to replace Mitch McConnell pic.twitter.com/uQxBd4B0dh

— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) November 8, 2024

It stands to reason that Thune’s willingness to entertain the indictments against President Trump when the democrats first began weaponizing the Department of Justice and engaging in lawfare against him will play a role in how things play out.

NEVER FORGET that Senator John Thune, Mitchell McConnell's pick for GOP Senate Leader, was all in on the weoponization of government against Donald J Trump when he was indicted. THUNE is no friend to Trump or MAGA.

SENATOR THUNE SHOULD NEVER BE CONSIDERED FOR THE LEADER… pic.twitter.com/hQMi2QgqUj

— Patriot Lady (@angelwoman501) November 7, 2024

The vote for the new Senate Majority Leader is set for Wednesday, and we’ll be bringing you updates as the race unfolds.