One of Gov. Greg Abbott’s senior campaign advisors has been regularly attacking former President Donald Trump on social media, leaving observers wondering why the governor is tolerating such behavior. The governor declined to answer questions about the routine assaults made by his political director, Mitch Carney, against Mr. Trump.
Carney is the son of another Abbott operative, New Hampshire-based political consultant Dave Carney.
The website JustThenews.com uncovered a long-standing pattern of behavior extending more than a year—including while Mitch Carney has been working for Greg Abbott.
The news website notes:
Following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, Carney, a veteran Texas GOP political operative, retweeted and liked a number of tweets that disparaged the then-president and the Republican lawmakers who voted not to certify the results of the 2020 election.
But Carney’s social media attacks extend beyond merely “liking” swipes at Mr. Trump, and demonstrate a long-standing animosity.
“Trumps own staff thinks he’s a joke,” Carney posted to Twitter in 2015.
Among other more recent examples, Carney can be found “liking” posts—such as those by Tom Giovanetti, the president of the Dallas-based Institute for Policy Innovation—that follow the Democrat narrative in blaming President Trump for the situation at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Carney also approvingly “liked” a different post referring to the January 6 activities as “domestic terrorism.”
Jessie Jane Duff, a Trump 2020 campaign co-chair, tweeted she wasn’t surprised by Carney’s statements. “He doesn’t even hide his [Trump Derangement Syndrome].”
Former President Trump endorsed Greg Abbott in June 2021. It is widely rumored that the endorsement was secured —reportedly over the objections of many Trump advisors—by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has been eager to build a closer relationship with Abbott.
The endorsement didn’t come up when the Trump-friendly CPAC had its gathering in Dallas just a month later. Not only did Mr. Trump not mention the endorsement in his remarks, but Gov. Abbott didn’t show up. In the straw poll of 2024 presidential aspirants, Abbott barely registered with 1 percent support from the Texas-heavy audience.
