FEELY THE HEAT

Trump Mounts Frantic Rescue for Golf Buddy Who Snubbed Him

The president’s longtime golf pal skipped his rally in Arizona.

President Donald Trump is making a last-ditch push to rescue his longtime golf buddy’s congressional campaign in battleground Arizona.

Former NFL kicker Jay Feely, who landed Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” in July, has benefited from more than $22 million in spending by GOP groups in his race against Democrat Amish Shah, much of it pouring in during the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election, Politico reported on Friday.

The boost from Trump comes despite Feely’s efforts to distance himself from his longtime friend and golf partner as the campaign reaches its climax. The pair have known each other for decades, but this week, Feely posted on social media: “I will stand up to anyone including the president if it is not in the best interest of this district and this state.”

Feely also skipped a rally Trump held in Arizona on Oct. 14, with his general consultant only saying that he “regrettably could not attend.”

The president’s team “appears to be taking a pragmatic view of Feely’s campaign, giving him some room to distance himself from the White House — even if that means avoiding the president’s rallies and breaking with him on other matters,” Politico reported after speaking to two Trump officials and two other people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Trump carried Arizona’s 1st District by 3 points in 2024, and this midterm race is expected to be one of the tightest in the country.

Other Republican candidates also appear to be distancing themselves from the 80-year-old president.

Thomas Massie, 55, who lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th congressional District to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein, said last month that GOP candidates are ditching the president ahead of the midterms over issues such as the Iran war.

“Look, I was the Republican who was speaking out for so long, and they were all, whatever Trump wants, they were all for it in their primaries,” Massie said on the Sept. 24 edition of CNN’s The Source. “And now they’re about to take a shellacking here in the general election. So, they’re running from him on this and other issues like the [Iran] war.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

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Isabel van BrugenFreelance Writer

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