MAGA Melts Down Over Rick Scott Defeat

John Thune is Senate Majority Leader

South Dakota Senator John Thune, widely considered an establishment moderate, was elected today as the Majority Leader of the Senate, and MAGA supporters are fuming.

Thune has never gotten along with Trump. He called on Trump to drop out of the race when the Access Hollywood tape broke in 2016. He was harshly critical of Trump in the wake of J6 - so much so that Trump endorsed Thune’s primary opponent in 2022. Thune then returned the favor by endorsing Tim Scott in the presidential primary against Trump. When asked if he would support Trump if he was the nominee, Thune refused to answer, saying only “I hope we will have better options.”

Thune had the backing of his mentor Mitch McConnell, also no friend of Trump’s (although he saved him from impeachment). John Cornyn was also in the race, which threatened to split the establishment vote, allowing MAGA challenger Rick Scott to make it into the runoff. But it was not to be as Scott finished 3rd on the first ballot, then Thune narrowly defeated Cornyn in the final vote.

It was reported that Trump wanted to endorse Scott, but knew he didn’t have the votes so he didn’t want to back him only to be publicly humiliated. But Musk backed him, along with all the far-right MAGA Senators. The MAGA meltdown after the vote was fun to watch. Here are some screen shots: