Trump Tweets Support for Ryan Opponent
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – President Donald Trump last week endorsed former state representative Christina Hagan in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Ohio.
Ryan, who was elected to Congress in 2002, is a frequent Trump critic and mounted a short-lived bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Trump in this year’s presidential election.
Trump tweeted his “Complete and Total Endorsement” Friday of Hagan, of Alliance, who represented the 50th District in the Ohio House of Representatives. He said she was “Strong on Jobs, Border Security and your Second Amendment,” and predicted that Hagan would be “an incredible Congresswoman for the working families of Northeast Ohio.”
Ryan, is “an absolute failure … who talks big for the worker but never delivers,” Trump said in his tweet.
“Tim Ryan was a failed Presidential candidate and he keeps failing Ohio,” he continued.
Trump Victory spokesman Dan Lusheck promoted the endorsement in a news release, which also included a photo of Hagan welcoming Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Mahoning Valley June 25 for the unveiling of the Lordstown Motors Corp. Endurance and to meet with community and law enforcement leaders in Youngstown.
“Christina has been a strong supporter and ally of President Trump since 2016, and the people of Ohio deserve her strong, principled leadership in Northeast Ohio,” he said. “Tim Ryan failed his constituents for far too long, and we look forward to working alongside Christina to win in November.”
On his Twitter account, Ryan also noted the endorsement of his opponent as part of a fundraising appeal for his campaign.
His criticism calls attention to Hagan’s support for legislation that would ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the woman, as well as for Senate Bill 5, legislation Ohio’s GOP-led General Assembly passed into law in 2011 to restrict collective bargaining rights that voters later repealed. She also backed legislation that would prevent an employer from firing an employee who refused to get a flu vaccine.
“She’s anti-choice, anti-union, even anti-vax and now she’s endorsed by Trump. Right-wing money is pouring into her campaign right now, can you chip in right now to help us fight back?” he said in the tweet.
Dennis Willard, communications director for Ryan’s campaign, echoed the incumbent congressman’s sentiments in a text message Sunday night.
“Christina Hagan voted to take away collective bargaining rights for 350,000 workers. She is an anti-vaxxer as the coronavirus spreads and she doesn’t live in the district,” Willard said. “She is extreme, dangerous and out-of-touch and we doubt the president ever heard of her before last week.”
Pictured at top: Former state representative Christina Hagan meets with Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Lordstown June 25. (Image: Trump 2020 campaign)
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
