Trump calls Democrat he pardoned a 'loser' for not switching parties

President Donald Trump has turned on Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, whom he pardoned last year, because the congressman stayed in his party instead of joining the Republicans. In a long Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump labeled Cuellar a loser and said the pardon should have earned loyalty. The remarks came before a rally Trump held in San Antonio, where he repeated similar points, according to Fox News.

Cuellar and his wife had been charged with bribery and money laundering before the pardon. Trump said he struck no bargain with the couple, as he suggested a corrupt politician would have done, and instead trusted that Cuellar, whom he described as persecuted by Democrats, would cross over on his own. He now calls that trust misplaced and says the congressman should be serving a long prison term. Cuellar, in the House since 2005, is campaigning for re-election.

Trump used the post to promote Cuellar's Republican challenger, Tano Tijerina, the Webb County judge running in Texas' 28th Congressional District. Trump praised him as a former baseball standout and athlete, and said a Tijerina win would serve as payback for disloyalty and ingratitude.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →