President Donald Trump celebrated Alex Vindman’s defeat in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary Wednesday, taking aim at the retired Army lieutenant colonel and declaring his loss the “most gratifying” result from Tuesday night.
“The most gratifying loss last night was that of a real treasonous creep, Alexander Vindman, to a Radical Left Lunatic, who can’t speak or think properly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who defeated Vindman by more than 12 points.
Vindman, a former director of European affairs for the National Security Council, became a nationally known figure during Trump’s first impeachment battle.
He testified before Congress about concerns surrounding Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate former President Joe Biden.
Trump has repeatedly defended the conversation as a “perfect” call and returned to that argument Wednesday while celebrating Vindman’s primary defeat.
“Vindman, if you remember, was the one who lied about my ‘Perfect Call’ with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, only to find out that the conversation was routinely recorded and proved that I was 100% in the right (Completely Innocent!),” Trump wrote.
The president also said Vindman, whose twin brother is Democratic Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman, “should be prosecuted” over his testimony.
Trump was ultimately acquitted by the Senate on both articles of impeachment in the first of his two impeachment trials overseen by the chamber.
While Trump blasted Vindman, he also predicted Nixon would face a much different outcome in November when she takes on Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
Trump said Nixon will “go down to certain defeat” against Moody, whom he described as “truly Fantastic.”
Moody was appointed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace Marco Rubio after Rubio became secretary of state. Moody and Nixon will now compete in a special election to determine who serves the remaining two years of Rubio’s Senate term.
Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, pulled off the primary victory despite entering the closing stretch of the campaign with a major fundraising disadvantage.
Federal Election Commission figures showed Nixon’s campaign had less than $265,000 on hand as of July 29. Vindman’s campaign, meanwhile, had more than $7.2 million available.
Despite that massive financial gap, Nixon defeated Vindman by more than 12 points to secure the Democratic nomination.
The result also prompted a change in how one prominent election handicapper views the general election contest.
With the Moody-Nixon showdown officially set, Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted its rating for the Florida Senate race further toward Republicans Wednesday, moving the contest from “likely Republican” to “safely Republican.”
Trump, meanwhile, made clear that Vindman’s defeat stood out among Tuesday night’s results, reviving one of the most bitter disputes stemming from his first impeachment while turning his attention toward Florida’s November Senate matchup.
