President Trump mocked his Republican challengers on Monday, calling them “The Three Stooges.”
The dig comes after former South Carolina governor and congressman Mark Sanford entered the GOP presidential primary on Sunday because he believes the Republican Party has lost its way. He said the most important reason he’s jumping in the ring is because of the “nation’s debt, deficits, and spending.”
“We have a storm coming that we are neither talking about nor preparing for given that we, as a country, are more financially vulnerable than we have ever been since our Nation’s start and the Civil War,” he tweeted. “We are on a collision course with financial reality. We need to act now.”
Trump blasted his decision to enter the race, recalling Sanford's infamous affair.
"When the former Governor of the Great State of South Carolina, @MarkSanford, was reported missing, only to then say he was away hiking on the Appalachian Trail, then was found in Argentina with his Flaming Dancer friend, it sounded like his political career was over. It was,… but then he ran for Congress and won, only to lose his re-elect after I Tweeted my endorsement, on Election Day, for his opponent. But now take heart, he is back, and running for President of the United States. The Three Stooges, all badly failed candidates, will give it a go!”
When the former Governor of the Great State of South Carolina, @MarkSanford, was reported missing, only to then say he was away hiking on the Appalachian Trail, then was found in Argentina with his Flaming Dancer friend, it sounded like his political career was over. It was,....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2019
...but then he ran for Congress and won, only to lose his re-elect after I Tweeted my endorsement, on Election Day, for his opponent. But now take heart, he is back, and running for President of the United States. The Three Stooges, all badly failed candidates, will give it a go!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2019
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Chris Wallace asked him about his affair and suggested it would be a “deal-breaker for a lot of voters.”
“I learned a level of humility, a level of empathy that I didn’t have before,” Sanford replied. “It is something of great regret. It’s something I’ve apologized extensively for.”
In addition to Sanford, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) and former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) earlier announced they will be taking on Trump.