Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a member of the House Freedom Caucus who President Donald Trump went after by name, on Sunday brushed off Trump’s “tweets and statements and blame” as immaterial compared to “facts.”
“Tweets and statements and blame don’t change facts. And the facts remain the same. When you look at the document, you look at the legislation, it doesn’t repeal Obamacare,” Jordan said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” referring to House Republicans’ failed health care bill.
On Thursday morning, Trump vowed to “fight” the House Freedom Caucus “in 2018.”
Later the same day, Trump called out three members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus — Jordan and Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Raúl Labrador (R-ID) — in a tweet telling them to “get on board” with his agenda.
White House social media director and senior adviser Dan Scavino Jr. on Saturday called Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), another member of the caucus, a “big liability” and urged a primary challenger to unseat him during midterms.
The House Freedom Caucus answered Trump’s attacks on Friday from its own Twitter account, and by mid-afternoon Saturday, Amash was raising funds off of Scavino’s threat.
“If one year from today you and Congressman Amash and Mark Meadows and Raúl Labrador and all the other members of the Freedom Caucus are facing primary challenges from Trump-supported candidates, then you’re not going to be able to focus on all the things you want to accomplish for the American people,” Jake Tapper said.
“Competition is fine. I’ve never shied away from competition,” Jordan replied. “If that’s what happens, that’s what happens.”
.@Jim_Jordan repsonds to @realDonaldTrump : “tweets and statements and blame don’t equal fact.” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/LbfdijpHN1
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 2, 2017
