A former Florida lawmaker has joined a growing list of Republican candidates distancing themselves from President Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.
Mike Beltran, the GOP nominee for Florida’s 14th congressional district, prominently featured Trump on his campaign website ahead of the primary last month. But he has since scrubbed key mentions of the president, according to the Washington Examiner.
Previously, Beltran’s website bragged that he “has stood with President Trump every step of the way, resisting the pressure that all but 7 Florida legislators gave in to.”
“He is one of only seven Republican legislators in the entire state of Florida who never endorsed Ron DeSantis for President, standing firm with Trump from the moment he came down the escalator in 2015. That wasn’t a political calculation. It was conviction,” his website read before the primary.
At the time, Beltran’s website also showcased his support for Trump’s “big, beautiful” megabill.
“Mike strongly supports President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut, delivering no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and real relief for seniors on Social Security,” the site previously stated. “These cuts are putting more money into the pockets of hardworking American families that earned it, and Mike will fight to make them permanent.”
Just a day after Beltran secured the Republican nomination, however, his website underwent an eyebrow-raising revamp that removed mentions of Trump and the president’s signature legislation, The Examiner reported.
In the updated version of Beltran’s website, Trump is mentioned sparingly. The Platform page states, “Mike stands 100 percent with President Trump on immigration. We need to finish the wall, deport the criminals and fraudsters, and restore law and order at our southern border. Florida’s families deserve security, not an open-border disaster.”
Other mentions of the president are limited to an old press release and a news item dated May 11.
Beltran’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. In a statement to The Examiner, a spokesperson deflected by attacking Democratic candidate Kathy Castor.
“Of course Mike supports President Trump and the Working Families Tax Cut, and shame on Kathy Castor for voting against no tax on tips and overtime, a tax cut on social security benefits, and every other provision in the bill that is putting money back in the pockets of Tampa Bay families. Kathy’s record is trillion dollar spending sprees that led to historic inflation, Mike’s record is cutting taxes and regulations to allow Hillsborough County to grow,” the spokesperson said.
Beltran’s social media pages continue to show him smiling for the camera next to the president.
Trump did not endorse anyone who ran for the Republican primary to take on Castor, who has represented Florida’s 14th congressional district since 2013. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
Beltran became the latest Republican candidate to update their website to remove prominent references to Trump. Similar revamps have been made by Ralph Alvarado and Andy Barr in Kentucky, and James Gallagher in California.
In July, Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Mackenzie also quietly overhauled his campaign website to scrub MAGA talking points, including a reference to “forever wars.”
