Donald Trump, Jr. speaks during a rally with President Donald Trump at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville, Pa., on Monday, May 20, 2019.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s son is planning to campaign against the only Republican congressman who has called for his father’s impeachment.
Donald Trump Jr. will be heading to Michigan to fight Rep. Justin Amash in a primary battle, people close to the Trump Organization executive told CNBC on the condition of anonymity. This comes after Trump’s son tweeted out a poll showing Amash losing to his only challenger so far in the race, state legislator Jim Lower, and hinting he will be heading to the Wolverine State to take on the four term lawmaker.
“See you soon Justin… I hear Michigan is beautiful during primary season,” Trump Jr. said.
Trump Jr.’s associates also noted that he will not be involved with recruiting any of the potential primary challengers for Michigan’s 3rd congressional district and will leave that task up to Republican Party leaders.
Amash for his part responded to the possibility of Trump Jr. working the primary. “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” he said.
An Amash spokeswoman referred CNBC to his tweet and a representative for Trump Jr. declined to comment.
Tensions between Amash and Republicans loyal to the president came to a boiling point after the Michigan representative reviewed the Mueller report and declared on Twitter that the president engaged in impeachable conduct.
Since then, he’s resigned from the conservative House Freedom Caucus and lost the support of powerful financiers such as the DeVos family.
Amash has also not ruled out a third party bid for president in 2020, the Congressman told CNN in March.
Republican Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has also been critical of Amash’s take on Mueller’s findings.
Trump Jr.’s decision to campaign for a primary challenger could pose a larger problem for the longtime representative. President Trump won his district by 10 percentage point over his rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Michigan was also a pivotal state for his surprise victory to the White House as he just barely captured it with just under half a percentage point that year.
However, since then, the presidents standing in the state has dwindled. A Morning Consult poll that regularly tracks the commander in chief’s approval ratings in each state, shows that 54 percent of those polled in the state disapprove of his job so far in office, while 42 percent approve.
