Trump Endorses Jim Desmond for 48th Congressional Seat

President Donald Trump threw his support behind San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond who is vying to take over the 48th Congressional District seat being vacated by Darrell Issa.

Desmond “WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. 

“A Brave U.S. Navy Veteran, Jim knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Defend our Country, Support our incredible Military/Veterans and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump wrote on social media, according to reporting from the Union-Tribune. 

Desmond responded on X.

“Thank you, Mr. President. We’re going to win this race, bring common sense back to California, and make this state affordable for working families again. The people deserve nothing less,” he wrote.

Shortly afterward, House Republican leadership including House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Desmond. He’s running against a crowded field of Democrats vying for a seat made newly competitive for that party under redrawn congressional maps by the state Legislature. 

“It’s like Darrell Issa never left, just another rubber stamp,” Ammar Campa-Najjar, who’s running on the crowded Democrat ticket, wrote on social media, calling Desmond’s backing from top Republicans a “kiss of death.”

Palm Springs economist Brandon Riker and San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert are other Democrats in the race for the 48th.

“Now it’s crystal clear: a vote for Jim Desmond is a vote for more of Trump’s chaos, corruption and rising costs,” von Wilpert wrote in a statement. “Jim Desmond isn’t really running to represent this community, he’s running to represent Trump and that will mean more dysfunction, more inflation, more ICE violence and more reckless foreign wars America can’t afford.”

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