During a meeting with Congressional Republicans on Tuesday, Donald Trump called out Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC), congratulated him on running a great race (Sanford lost his primary bid and said it was because he wasn't “Trump enough”) and then called him a “nasty guy.”
Trump just called Mark Sanford a "nasty guy" week after Sanford lost his GOP primary race, source in meeting says
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) June 19, 2018
WOW!
Trump: “Is Mark Sanford here? I just want to congratulate him on running a great race.”
Room goes silent. Trump then called him a nasty guy and the room booed, a bit.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 19, 2018
After hearing silence from the room, Trump added, “What, nobody gets it?” according to The Washington Post.
Sanford later told the WaPo: “I would say the comment goes to the core of why I have at times agreed with policies of the administration but at the same time found the president's personal style so caustic and counterproductive. The tragedy of the Trump presidency is that he thinks it's about him. The president has taken those earnest beliefs by so many people across the country and has unfortunately fallen prey to thinking it's about him.”