Trump blasts Ben Sasse as author urges former president to take Senate seat

Nebraska GOP Senator Ben Sasse is expected to step down from his seat two years early after being selected as a unanimous finalist for the University of Florida (UF) presidency, while a conservative author is urging ex-President Donald Trump to die potential position to be filled.

The news was announced by UF Twitter account Thursday, which said Sasse was selected after an “extensive search process that included contacting over 700 applicants and a dozen highly qualified top candidates for interviews.”

According to the tweet, Sasse will visit the university in Gainesville on Monday to meet with faculty, staff and students. The UF Board of Trustees will make its final decision on his candidacy on November 1st.

Sasse, who was elected Senator in 2020, posted a statement on Twitter that he had been stalked by UF for two years and had “resisted being named a finalist” in the past.

“This time is different because the University of Florida is very different,” Sasse wrote. “I think Florida is the most interesting university in America right now.”

The news revived backlash from GOP leaders against Sasse, who became the first Republican senator in 2021 to say he would consider action to remove Trump from office and spoke out against Nebraska GOP leaders, who wanted to reprimand him for criticizing the outgoing president.

Sasse was later one of the seven Republican senators who voted in February 2021 to convict Trump of inciting a riot.

Trump posted about Sasse’s new job offer on his Truth social account Thursday, writing that it was “great news for the United States Senate and our country itself.”

“The University of Florida will soon regret their decision to hire him as their president,” Trump added. “We have enough weak and ineffective RINOs in our midst.”

The phrase “RINO” stands for “Republican in Name Only,” a term used derisively by some Republicans to describe other members of the GOP whose views disagree with the extreme MAGA sector.

Trump’s comments followed shortly thereafter conservative author Nick Adams Posting on Twitter that the former President should be the one to replace Sasse in the Senate.

“Donald Trump should buy a house in Nebraska and [Nebraska] Governor Pete Ricketts should nominate President Donald J. Trump to the US Senate to replace Ben Sasse,” Adams wrote.

Adam’s work has been praised by Trump in the past, including his book Reclaim America This calls for an end to “political correctness”.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said he looks forward to “working with the great Nebraska Republican Party to get a real senator representing the incredible people of this state and not another fake RINO.”

Should Sasse resign, Ricketts, a Republican, would appoint a replacement. Politico reported Thursday that Ricketts, who has reached his term limit and is no longer eligible for re-election as governor, is being considered a potential candidate for Sasse’s seat.

Ricketts had a complicated history with the former president, and in December 2021 asked Trump to “stay out” of the midterm election by not endorsing candidates for the Nebraska primary, ABC affiliate KETV 7 in Omaha reported.

Trump’s recommended candidate for governor of Nebraska, Charles Herbster, lost to GOP nominee Jim Pillen in the primary.

news week has reached out to Sasse’s team for comment.