President Donald Trump ranted about Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, calling him a “disloyal disaster” and a “terrible guy” before polls closed in a contentious primary election to keep control of his seat.
The president lashed out at Cassidy in a Truth Social post shared Saturday morning as polls opened across the state. Hours later, Cassidy was defeated.
“Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is a disloyal disaster,” Trump wrote. “His entire past campaign for the Senate was about ‘TRUMP,’ how he’s with me all the way, and then, after winning, he turned around and voted to IMPEACH me for something that has now proven to be total ‘bulls***!’”
“He knew that at the time, but didn’t care,” the president added. “Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA. Now he’s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today’s BIG election, by two great people!!!”
Cassidy faced two other GOP candidates — including Trump-endorsed Representative Julia Letlow — in Louisiana’s Republican primary.
Cassidy was among the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump in 2021 during his impeachment trial over the January 6 Capitol attack. Trump was ultimately acquitted after 57 Senators voted to convict, three short of the supermajority needed to convict.
Last month, Cassidy told NBC News that his 2021 vote “might be” a liability in the primary election. But he said he has been trying to emphasize his working relationship with the president.
“If you want somebody who works well with President Trump, you vote for Bill Cassidy. He may not like me, but he has signed into law four bills that I either wrote or negotiated in the last four months,” Cassidy told The Washington Post.
Trump urged Louisiana residents to vote for Letlow, calling her a “winner who will NEVER let you down.” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also joined Trump in endorsing Letlow earlier this year.
The congresswoman first took office in 2021 following a special election to replace her husband, who initially won the seat in 2020 but died from COVID-19 complications just days before his swearing in.
Cassidy’s defeat marked the first time an incumbent senator lost a primary election in more than 10 years.
The senator, who has also worked as a physician, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2008 and won his first Senate race in 2014.
“I’m focused on the now and the future,” he told NBC News last month. “If you want somebody delivering for our state, to make Louisiana a place where people move to set down roots, raise their children and grandchildren, I’m your guy.”
The Independent has requested comment from Cassidy’s campaign.
