At RNC in Milwaukee, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer cements himself as a top Trump backer

MILWAUKEE — Rep. Tom Emmer sang former President Donald Trump’s praises when he took the stage during prime time at the Republican National Convention, vowing to turn the former president’s “America First principles” into law if he wins in November. The House majority whip joined Trump and his vice presidential pick Sen. JD Vance of Ohio in the box off the convention floor after his impassioned speech for the former president.

“Next year, Donald Trump, with the support of Trump majorities in the House and Senate, will put America first again,” Emmer said Tuesday evening from the RNC stage. “And I’m confident that together we are going to make America great again.”

His praise for Trump during the United States’ most-watched TV hour was a stark contrast from where the two Republican leaders left off last October. Then, the former president called Emmer a “RINO,” — Republican in name only — during the majority whip’s brief bid for U.S. House speaker, effectively tanking his chances.

It’s a moment that Republicans say the two have moved on from for the sake of unity heading into November, as Trump looks to take back the White House and Emmer attempts to flip Minnesota for Trump.

“There was a lot going on at that time with the speaker’s race, and I think that they just for whatever reason ...” Rep. Michelle Fischbach said on the sidelines at the RNC, stopping short of speaking about the specifics of their rift. “Emmer’s support for Trump has never waned, it’s always been strong,” the Seventh District congresswoman concluded.

Other Republicans say their apparent feud was overblown from the beginning and the two were simply playing politics.

Emmer embraced Trump in 2016, even when many Republicans were still on the fence about him. But Emmer’s vote to certify President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 upset Trump’s supporters.

When Emmer chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee, a story from CNN may have sparked the feud. The cable news outlet reported in August 2022 that Emmer advised candidates to focus on the issues and not worry about embracing Trump to win in their districts, as the GOP was trying to regain control of the House.

But a GOP operative close to Emmer’s team said the majority whip’s advice was misrepresented to Trump’s orbit, and much of the rift was manufactured at the time by consultants.

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the effort to oust the former House speaker and ultimately voted in favor of Emmer for the job, said that at the end of the day, the majority whip is known by Republicans as a “gruff Minnesota truth-teller.”

“They fight for the same things,” Gaetz said of Emmer and Trump, during a brief interview with the Star Tribune on Tuesday. “I love seeing them on the same page.”

Now, Emmer says there are no hard feelings between him and the former president and insists Trump has been a “great ally” all along.

“We’ve always had a great relationship. Right now, we’re looking forward. Donald Trump’s gonna win the presidency again in November, and it’s gonna be important that we’re working together because we’re gonna get some things done,” Emmer said on the RNC floor Tuesday.

Minnesota GOP chairman David Hann said he wasn’t surprised to see Trump and Emmer working more closely together. “People are at odds with one thing or another and they get over it,” said Hann, who served with Emmer in the Minnesota Legislature.

But Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who previously served in the U.S. House with Emmer, had more unfiltered thoughts on the Republican leaders’ relationship, saying the majority whip needed to have more “dignity.”

“That is the ultimate groveling,” Walz said during a visit to Milwaukee to counter Republican messaging at the RNC. “[Trump] shanks him out of the speaker’s race and then Tom crawls back.”