CLEVELAND, Ohio — With the Republican National Convention getting underway Monday in Cleveland, 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney says he hasn’t wavered in his support for GOP nominee Donald Trump.
The convention will begin Trump’s White House bid in earnest, and Mooney said on MetroNews “Talkline” last week that the New York real estate mogul should have the support of the GOP.
“I most certainly am,” Mooney said when asked if he was “all-in” on Trump. “It’s between Trump and Hillary Clinton, and it’s a clear choice there. When it comes to coal issues, the appointment of the U.S. Supreme Court justice, not having the Supreme Court become a liberal body. Donald Trump is with us, Hillary Clinton is not with us.”
Mooney, a constitutional conservative who originally backed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) before he dropped out of the race in the spring, said he he had no concerns that Trump isn’t that necessarily.
“I thought he did, frankly great, from what I heard him say,” said Mooney of a question and answer session Trump recently had with the U.S. House. “I guess you can look at some positions he took 20 or 30 years ago when he was in business…he’s become more conservative on the pro-life issue and other things. He’s embracing conservative positions and I’m comfortable with that.”
Trump picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate last week. Mooney agreed that Trump needed to strike a balance between appealing to more voters to win the general election, but also staying true to the brash, honest style that won him the GOP nomination.
“It is a conundrum. And people have really rallied to his message of not being politcally correct. People are sick and tired of folks being afraid to say what they think because it’s not politically correct to say so, whether it’s immigration policy or whatever the issue is,” Mooney said. “He really rallied people to him, but the general election is different than the primary.”
Despite backing Cruz, Mooney said he would be unwavering in his support for Trump, and would have had the same support had any one of the other several candidates vying for the GOP nomination won the prize.
“There’s 17 people that ran. One asked me to support him so I did,” Mooney explained. “I was ready to support which of the other 16 may have made it through. I’m comfortable supporting Donald Trump absolutely, and I’m going to the convention to support him. I’ll continue supporting him through the campaign because it’s important that he wins.”
Both Mooney and fellow 3rd District Congressman Evan Jenkins will be at the RNC in Cleveland, along with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who is slated to speak on Tuesday night.