Lesko thanks Trump for praise via Twitter
President says Arizonan is a ‘great American!’
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko remained loyal to President Donald Trump during the House impeachment hearings, at one point even challenging the events that led to the investigation.
On Friday night, the president recognized the Arizona Republican for her loyalty.
“Congresswoman Lesko, a great American!” Trump proclaimed on Twitter, as he retweeted another show of support for Lesko.
About 12 minutes later, Lesko replied with her own tweet: “Thank you, Mr. President!”
The endorsement is likely to further boost Lesko’s standing among Trump supporters as she prepares to seek reelection next year and will further elevate her national profile.
Lesko made headlines earlier in December when she claimed Trump had not pressed Ukraine to investigate
Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden and a Trump political rival.
Although many Trump supporters have tried to offer alternative explanations for Trump’s telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Lesko went a step further in an exchange with a CNN correspondent.
Manu Raju asked, “Why is it ever OK for an American president to ask a foreign power to investigate a political rival? Why do you think that’s OK?”
“He didn’t do that,” Lesko responded. “No. He did not do that.”
Pressed further, she said Trump had a legitimate reason for what he did:
“That was because, I think, logically, more likely than the Democrat story, is because he wanted to vet out the corruption,” she said.
Lesko joined other House Republicans in voting against impeaching Trump, calling the action “a total joke and a total sham.”