Former Congressman Mike Rogers is a full-blown RINO. He’s a NeoCon. He’s part of the Romney/Cheney wing of the Republican Establishment. And perhaps most importantly, he’s a self-avowed NeverTrumper.

As Senator Rand Paul noted on Twitter, Donald Trump’s endorsement of Rogers for U.S. Senator in the Michigan race is like endorsing John Bolton.

Donald Trump just endorsed the worst Deep State candidate this cycle.

@MikeRogersForMI is a never Trumper, and a card carrying member of the spy state that seeks to destroy Trump.

You have to ask yourself who gives Trump this awful advice?

Who’s next, John Bolton?

Donald Trump just endorsed the worst Deep State candidate this cycle. @MikeRogersForMI is a never Trumper, and a card carrying member of the spy state that seeks to destroy Trump.

You have to ask yourself who gives Trump this awful advice?

Who’s next, John Bolton? pic.twitter.com/TZXRYLtFv6

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 11, 2024

The question is, “Why?” The answer is, sadly, pretty obvious.

Trump the Deal Maker

As much as most Trump supporters want to believe that their preferred candidate is above the petty political fray and that backroom deals with the UniParty Swamp are below him, neither are true. He’s not above the fray. In fact, he generally thrives within the fray and he’s not going to let the RINO v America First Patriot war within the Republican Party slip by without his input.

When it comes to backroom deals, Trump is among the best at getting the upper hand. Unfortunately, that means that he’s willing to do things his base doesn’t like if it means achieving a goal. Right now, the goal is to be President of the United States and he (or at least his team) believes engaging with the UniParty Swamp is the best way to achieve this goal.

I’d argue that the strategy is wrong, but I’m biased. I don’t want any dealings with the UniParty Swamp. I have that luxury since I’m sitting behind a keyboard instead of running for office. Trump does not have that luxury.

But Mike Rogers? Really? This guy makes Dick Cheney seem mild in his warmongering and Deep State shenanigans. As Sundance at The Conservative Treehouse noted:

Mike Rogers together with Democrat Rep Dutch Ruppersberger, were infamous for generating the report that defended the CIA and Deep State during the Benghazi aftermath and protecting Hillary Clinton {GO DEEP}.  CTH took apart the report that was created by Rogers and Ruppersberger without the other members of the intelligence committee participating.

Annoyingly, Rogers has a long history of helping to assist and create the national security “surveillance state.”  SEE HERE and SEE HERE and SEE HERE.  Perhaps he has changed in the decade since he was one of the primary advocates for the Deep State and the creation of the 4th branch of government; however, I doubt it.

I also doubt that President Trump was advised about the nature of Mike Rogers and his ideological outlook toward supporting the National Security state.  Rogers has a life-long history of supporting the very institutional actors who targeted President Trump, so it’s a little hard to see him supporting President Trump in the second term.

The 2014 Rogers/Ruppersberger Report was specifically designed, by wording, to provide political cover to both parties – Republicans and Democrats within the Gang of Eight particularly included and protected.

Endorsements are almost entirely worthless. Trump’s are by far the most important any candidate can receive, which is why it’s discouraging that on multiple occasions over the past eight years he’s made some pretty ugly ones. Katie Britt? Dr. Mehmet Oz? Mitt Romney?!?!?!?!

But there’s an asterisk that needs to be added here. Of the GOP candidates vying for the nomination, the three top candidates are ALL NeverTrumpers. Justin Amash is a Libertarian at heart who hates Trump. Peter Meijer voted to impeach Trump. James Craig was the best candidate but dropped out even when he was polling strong because he ran out of money. Rogers is arguably the least of the NeverTrump evils who have a chance of winning.

So there’s that. But the circumstances don’t take away the sting of knowing that Trump is endorsing someone based on the prodding of the Mitch McConnell clan in the Senate. I’d rather Trump had endorsed an America First candidate who would lose instead of a RINO who is likely going to win.

Sound off about this article on my Substack.

I will back any American First patriot running against a RINO. I don’t care if doing so could “damage” the RINO’s chances of beating the Democrat. We cannot continue to lose while repeating the old adage, “Vote conservative in the primary, vote Republican in the general.”

We need some real victories or this nation will not recover from the damage that’s been done by The Swamp for seven decades. That’s why I’m very interested in the story below by Mary Lou Masters with Daily Caller News Foundation. I’d take just about any Republican over Lindsey Graham. Ralph Norman isn’t just any Republican. He’s a conservative. Here’s Mary Lou…

GOP Rep Considers Challenging Lindsey Graham in 2026 Senate Primary: REPORT

South Carolina GOP Rep. and House Freedom Caucus member Ralph Norman is weighing a 2026 Senate bid to challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary, according to Politico.

Graham has served in the upper chamber since 2003 and has repeatedly beat out primary challengers, but was booed on July 1 by his own constituents at a rally for former President Donald Trump. Conservatives now see an opportunity for another Republican to emerge in 2026 and have been discussing a potential bid with Norman, a source familiar with the matter told Politico.

“Rep. Norman is not ruling anything out but has made no decisions yet on future elections,” a spokesperson for Norman told the Daily Caller News Foundations in a statement. “He remains firmly committed to serving South Carolina’s 5th district in the House, and doing everything within his ability to restore fiscal sanity and conservative values to Congress.”

Conservatives have grown frustrated with Graham for his moderate position on key issues, most recently his devout support for Ukraine in the war with Russia, and several Trump allies argue the senator isn’t loyal, according to Politico.

The two South Carolinians have attended events together, and Norman endorsed Graham in 2019 during the most recent Senate primary, according to Politico. Graham went on to beat three Republican primary challengers in 2020, according to Greenville News.

“No one has done more than Lindsey Graham to confirm President Trump’s conservative judges and help rebuild our military. That’s why we need Lindsey Graham re-elected to the United States Senate,” Norman said in 2019, per Greenville News.

Graham also beat now Republican Rep. Nancy Mace in the 2014 Senate primary, but none of the senator’s previous GOP challengers have held the degree of name recognition that Norman has, according to Politico.

Graham has endorsed Trump for president in 2024 because he “was a good president,” but was a vocal opponent of the then-candidate’s 2016 bid, arguing “if the Republican Party nominates Donald Trump, they will destroy themselves and they will deserve it.”

Norman isn’t backing the former president for the 2024 primary, and instead threw his support behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley when she announced her campaign in February.

Prior to his time in the Senate, Graham served in the state legislature before winning a U.S. House seat in the late 1990s, according to Ballotpedia. Norman, who is currently running for reelection in 2024, has been in Congress since 2017 when he won the special election to replace outgoing Rep. Mick Mulvaney, and previously served in the South Carolina state House.

Neither Graham nor Norman immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Even more shocking is how few Republican voters realize they keep electing people who are working against their best interests, the nation, and the so-called Republican platform.

Steve Deace from The Blaze put some names to the few good ones in Congress. By his tally, only 30 out of 222 House Republicans have a 90% score on Conservative Review’s Liberty Score:

There are currently just 30 out of 222 House Republicans who have a 90% (A-grade) or higher Liberty Score via Conservative Review:

• • Biggs
  • Bishop
  • Boebert
  • Buck
  • Burchett
  • Cloud
  • Clyde
  • Davidson
  • Donalds
  • Duncan
  • Gohmert
  • Good
  • Gooden
  • Gosar
  • Greene
  • Herrell
  • Hice
  • Jordan
  • Mann
  • Massie
  • McClintock
  • Miller
  • Mooney
  • Moore
  • Nehls
  • Norman
  • Rosendale
  • Roy
  • Steube
  • Tiffany

On the other hand, 93/222 House Republicans currently have a Liberty Score under 70% (D/F-grade).

In other words, there are three times more terrible Republicans currently in the House then there are excellent ones.

There are currently just 30 out of 222 House Republicans who have a 90% (A-grade) or higher Liberty Score via Conservative Review:

Biggs
Bishop
Boebert
Buck
Burchett
Cloud
Clyde
Davidson
Donalds
Duncan
Gohmert
Good
Gooden
Gosar
Greene
Herrell
Hice
Jordan
Mann
Massie…

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) June 28, 2023

Those who think we’re going to elect our way out of the current messes in this country get two things wrong. First, the rigged elections mean even many of the Republicans who are allowed to win are actually just stooges for the UniParty Swamp. Second, until there are actual conservatives and America First patriots in control of the party itself, it’s just going to be a lesser-of-two-evils scenario at best.

In some scenarios, the Republicans actually advance the machinations of the Globalist Elite Cabal faster than the Democrats. The Senate GOP is even worse than the House.

We have to stop thinking along the lines of Republican versus Democrat. That should be a very loose guideline to cover the basics, but we need to do much better than that with our discernment. This is why I’ve said for years that the primary elections are exponentially more important than the general elections. If we keep sending RINOs to the halls of government, we’re just empowering the UniParty Swamp. We need patriots who actually love this nation and work for the people to be our representatives.

The projected red tsunami during the midterm elections happened because Christie’s Uniparty Swamp engaged in massive, widespread voter fraud. One of the biggest reasons the RINO wing of the Swamp went along with it was to be able to blame “MAGA Republicans” and Donald Trump for their losses so they could regain control of the party. Christie is echoing their false narrative perfectly.

Ever the master manipulator, McConnell didn’t lean on some of his usual suspects of reliable Uniparty members such as Lisa Murkowski. Instead, he pulled from a very specific list of RINOs who all had one trait in common. As Daniel Horowitz noted:

They made sure that no Republican involved in the gun control crap is in cycle. This is what a party that hates you does. But you will continue to be fooled by Republicans and Fox News and enjoy the show

They made sure that no Republican involved in the gun control crap is in cycle. This is what a party that hates you does. But you will continue to be fooled by Republicans and Fox News and enjoy the show

— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) June 12, 2022

Any Republican who votes for the bill will get toasted during the midterm elections. McConnell knows this. He’s fully aware that the vast majority of conservatives oppose gun control and the GOP will need conservatives on election day if they have any hopes of retaking control of the Senate.

Here are the RINOs who have betrayed the party and the nation on orders from McConnell:

• John Cornyn
• Thom Tillis
• Roy Blunt
• Richard Burr
• Bill Cassidy
• Susan Collins
• Lindsey Graham
• Rob Portman
• Mitt Romney
• Pat Toomey

Four of them — Tillis, Blunt, Burr, Portman, and Toomey — are all retiring. The rest will have 2-4 years to make voters in their state forget their betrayal.

Some think Mitch McConnell’s sway over RINO Senators is limited to election control, but it’s far worse than that. He holds sway over their futures well beyond Capitol Hill, which is why any McConnell-endorse Republican should be booted.