U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen, who has worked to distance himself from President Donald Trump during his competitive re-election race, got an unexpected tweet of support from Trump — a potential boost for his critics, who say Paulsen hasn't done enough to stand up to his fellow Republican.
"Congressman Erik Paulsen of the Great State of Minnesota has done a fantastic job in cutting Taxes and Job Killing Regulations," Trump tweeted at 11:22 p.m. on Monday. "Hard working and very smart. Keep Erik in Congress. He has my Strong Endorsement!"
Paulsen, a five-term congressman from Eden Prairie, is trying to hold his seat in the Third Congressional District, which spans Bloomington to Coon Rapids. Even as Paulsen has hung on, the district has backed Democrats for president three times over the past decade.
Paulsen said in a brief interview that he didn't seek or request Trump's endorsement.
"Trump is Trump, he's going to do what he's going to do," Paulsen said, reiterating an earlier statement that he wishes the president would endorse his position to protect the Boundary Waters instead. He added about the late-night tweet: "I found out about it when everyone else did."
Paulsen has said publicly that he didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but rather wrote in Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. And throughout his campaign, he's highlighted his opposition to mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which Trump's administration has supported. That was the focus of Paulsen's first TV ad and his campaign fliers, which show a photo of him and his family paddling on a lake. It asserts that he "stood up to his own party to protect" the Boundary Waters.
"I've got a record of showing where I'm independent," Paulsen said Tuesday.
This year, Paulsen skipped Trump's rallies in Duluth and Rochester and Vice President Mike Pence's visit to the Twin Cities for a Republican Party fundraiser — the only absent Republican member of the congressional delegation. He did attend a Minneapolis event with Pence last spring.