Conservatives in Washington have responded angrily after President Trump attacked Texas Rep. Chip Roy and called for him to face a primary challenge, saying that they view his comments as unhelpful and divisive.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), called the comments “idiotic” in a tweet on Sunday night, while Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said that he “strongly disagree[s]” with Trump’s criticism and that it “will only divide us further.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also weighed in, saying that “when we are united, we can always solve our problems.”
President Trump has been vocal in his criticism of Congress, recently taking aim at House Republicans for failure to repeal ObamaCare and for not doing enough to work with him to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a tweet on Sunday, he criticized Rep. Roy for voting against a border wall funding bill in a show of defiance to the Republican leadership, and called for him to face a primary challenge in 2020.
Many conservatives have expressed their frustration with the president’s approach, saying that his tactics are not beneficial to the Republican Party and their efforts to achieve their goals. It remains to be seen what the fallout from the president’s criticism of Rep. Roy will be, and whether the incident will be used as another example of Trump’s divisive tactics.
