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'Such a lack of loyalty': Trump blasts Cuellar over Democratic re-election bid despite his pardon

'Such a lack of loyalty': Trump blasts Cuellar over Democratic re-election bid despite his pardon

Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)

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Henry Cuellar launched his House re-election campaign as a Democrat hours after receiving a pardon from Donald Trump in a bribery case.

President Donald Trump on Sunday (Dec 07) lashed out at the US House member Henry Cuellar for seeking re-election as a Democratic Party candidate. Accusing him of betrayal, Trump said the Texas voter will not like the move. The US president issued a pardon to Congressman Cuellar and his wife on Wednesday as they were facing bribery charges stemming from accusations that they had accepted thousands of dollars from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank in return for furthering their agenda.

“I never spoke to the Congressman, his wife, or his daughters, but felt very good about fighting for a family that was tormented by very sick and deranged people – They were treated sooo BADLY!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like. Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”

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Cuellar filed for re-election as a Democrat hours after receiving the pardon and stated that he has no intention of changing his political affiliations.

“It came as a surprise,” Cuellar said. “I want to thank President Trump for this. Now we clear the air. Nothing has changed, and we’re going to be ready to win re-election again.”

US President's announcement of pardons on Wednesday morning fueled speculation that the 11-term veteran might switch to the Republican Party or withdraw from contesting the upcoming mid-term elections.

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Earlier, Trump, while granting pardons, said that Cuellar was unfairly targeted by Democrats for being critical of the party's position on immigration.

“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump posted.

Cuellar, often seen as a conservative-leaning Democrat in the US House, represents a South Texas district that Republicans reconfigured in August to boost their own electoral advantage.

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Ajaypal Choudhary

Driven by a deep interest in international politics and geo-economics, Ajaypal Choudhary writes on and analyses a wide range of subjects from geopolitics and the global economy to ...Read More