Scoop: Trump aides dump 1 of the 2 Arizona governor candidates he backed
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Three top aides to President Trump have stopped working for Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson, shown speaking at a campaign rally in 2022. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Three of President Trump's top political lieutenants are abandoning the campaign of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson amid a flap that led Trump to simultaneously endorse a second Republican in the 2026 primary.
Driving the news: The exodus from Robson's campaign came after Trump's advisers spent months urging her to air TV ads promoting his endorsement — which she'd promised to do, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The backstory: Trump endorsed Robson in December, leading her to get help from the president's political apparatus.
- But on April 22, Trump announced that he was simultaneously endorsing GOP Rep. Andy Biggs, a sign that the president was hedging his bet on the Arizona race.
- This week, former Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita and chief Trump campaign strategist Tony Fabrizio quit their jobs advising Robson, according to the three sources who spoke with Axios.
- Chris Grant, a leader of MAGA Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC, also left.
What they're saying: "It takes special skill to botch a GOP primary with the Trump endorsement, but unfortunately that's what this candidate has single-handedly assured," one GOP strategist told Axios.
- "It's basically the greatest self-own in GOP political history."
- Robson's campaign declined to comment. A Robson ally rejected the Trump team's claims that she'd promised to run the ads in the time frame they requested.
Zoom in: Trump aides had told Robson that by running ads highlighting the president's endorsement, she could solidify backing from his voters in the swing state and make it harder for Biggs to get Trump's backing.
- Robson, a wealthy lobbyist and businesswoman, indicated that she planned to dip into her personal bank account to pay for the ads, the aides contended.
- But Trump's team felt misled when Robson waited to air the ads. "She won't listen to anyone else, so she can run her own campaign now," said one person briefed on the Trump aides' exodus.
- It wasn't until April 28 — more than four months after Trump announced his endorsement, and six days after the president said he was also backing Biggs — that Robson began running a TV ad touting Trump's support.
Zoom out: Robson lost to the Trump-endorsed Kari Lake in the 2022 race for Arizona governor.
- During the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Robson raised money for Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and Trump primary opponent.
- Trump's endorsement of Robson drew pushback from Republican activists such as pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who said Robson wasn't conservative enough.
- "Respectfully, who is doing the vetting for you?" Loomer posted on X in a message to Trump.
- Biggs is a staunch Trump loyalist, and is perhaps best known for his aggressive efforts to help Trump overturn his 2020 election loss.
