One of the biggest misconceptions about President Donald Trump is that he holds a grudge. If that were true, he wouldn’t have half the cabinet he has now, and he’d never have been a good negotiator. A case could be made that Trump doesn’t hold enough grudges. If I were Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) would be high on my list.
As Trump continues to primary some longstanding Republicans, some seen as party loyalists, the perception that he’s doing so because he holds a grudge is only increasing. But it’s inaccurate.
If Trump is anything, he’s a pragmatist, and he knows that immediately after the midterms, he’ll be a lame duck president. He’s been through this, somewhat, in the days between the 2020 election and Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. Trump went through four years out of office in exile before this term. He knows how quickly political BFFs abandon ship.
Once an outsider, Trump is now wise to the ways of politics, and in typical fashion, he’s become better than most who’ve been at it much longer than him.
Trump knows that, prior to this, one thing he could use as an incentive to get others to help him achieve whatever it was that he wanted to achieve was the possibility he’d be president once again. After the midterms, a lot of the incentives and levers he’s had will be off the table.
Still, his pattern of behavior will not be the norm for someone in his position. He’s not going to spend the next two years daydreaming about his presidential library or planning ways to cash in on his place in history. He’s already had the money, and he still does. He’s not going to spend those two years trying to start the narrative on his legacy.
Instead, he’s likely going to ramp up efforts to secure tangible accomplishments that are his legacy, things like finally getting some judges appointed, and maybe a Supreme Court justice or two. He will still want the SAVE Act or some version of it, and many other things. Of course, that’s why he was so active in the primaries, weighing in on the races that will get him the votes he will count on in the Capitol building before 2028.
With all of that on his mind, it’s understandable that there may have been some notable races he didn’t seem to care about, because he didn’t need to care. One was the Texas race for attorney general (AG). The two Republicans who faced off in the primary for that post were Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who, for the most part, is from the MAGA wing of the party, and Mayes Middleton, also identified as MAGA. Trump did not endorse either one because there was nothing in it for him, really. Trump does not need the Texas AG for much of anything in the next two years. And so, on May 26, the two settled it amongst themselves, and Roy lost the primary to Middleton.
Some are saying Trump should have endorsed Roy in the race, but really, why? Out of gratitude for being a loyal MAGA congressman?
Let’s take a closer look at that. After Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Roy was one of the Republicans who voted to certify the election results before Trump could get the recounts, reviews, and audits he was demanding at the time.
On the House floor back then, Roy said: “The President of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly impeachable conduct – pressuring the Vice President to violate his oath to the Constitution to count the electors. His open and public pressure – courageously rejected by the Vice President – purposefully seeded the false belief among the President’s supporters, including those assembled on January 6th, that there was a legal path for the President to stay in power. It was foreseeable and reckless to sow such a false belief that could lead to violence and rioting by loyal supporters whipped into a frenzy.”
If you’re sad for Chip Roy… don’t be… This is the same POS who condemned President Trump’s dangerous “actions” during J6 and applauded Mike Pence for certifying the RIGGED election
“The President of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly… pic.twitter.com/nMlTviAzrk
— Trumpusa1 (@Trumpusa1A1) May 27, 2026
Trump may not hold a grudge, but he doesn’t forget. This was a teachable moment for Trump when it came to Roy.
Something else Roy did in 2024, which Trump likely did not forget, was to endorse Ron DeSantis instead of the 45th president. Roy attacked Trump’s leadership style and approach. He repeatedly said that the GOP needed someone who was more disciplined in executing conservative policy.
Some have argued that not only should Trump not have endorsed Roy, but that he should have endorsed Middleton. The truth is, all that matters to Trump right now is what good it will do going forward, and an endorsement of Roy or Middleton would mean nothing to the Trump agenda.
Since Trump returned to the White House, Roy rediscovered his conservative and MAGA identity, the same identity that went AWOL the minute Biden was declared the winner in 2020. Roy was a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, for one. But it was all too little, too late. The time to be in Trump’s corner for Roy was back in 2020, when it might not have been popular to do so.
Meanwhile, Mayes Middleton moves on to the general election in this deeply red state.
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