Breaking Exclusive: Michele Fiore to meet with Donald Trump. On agenda Trump endorsement of Fiore
Multiple sources close to both Michele Fiore, newly announced candidate for Nevada Governor, and the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, have indicated to Politico.tips that discussions are underway for the nascent Fiore campaign to receive a coveted Trump Republican primary endorsement.
While some were caught off guard by Fiore’s announcement of her candidacy on Monday, October 19th, the current Las Vegas City Councilwoman has been eyeing a bigger office since at least late winter, vacillating between a run for Mayor of Las Vegas or the Lt. Governorship of her state.
Her plans began to solidify by August, and on September 9th, a tweet thread appeared indicating the Councilwoman would not be running for reelection to her current Ward 6 position. In it, longtime Las Vegas journalist, Dana Gentry, speculated on Fiore’s run for Governor. However, at that time she had not yet decided on whether she was running for the number one or number two spot on the Republican ballot.
What transpired between September 9th and October 19th that finally caused her to make a decision? Two events, both with seismic impacts in Trump World, caused Ms. Fiore to be convinced to go for the governorship.
The announcement by Dean Heller of his intent to make a Silver State comeback by returning to Carson City as Governor infuriated Mr. Trump. This act caused Trump, who was recently quoted as still being unable to process former Senator Heller’s perceived betrayal of him, to cast a keen eye on a race that he had been paying only cursory attention to up to that point. With Trump’s animosity and frustration toward Heller being relayed directly to Michael J. McDonald, a longtime Trump confidant and the Nevada GOP Chairman, the effort to put in place a Fiore run took on a new urgency, as those in MAGA World had little interest in supporting Joey Gilbert, John Lee, or Joe Lombardo.
On a brisk, sunny afternoon in Winnemucca, an event that saw Chairman McDonald win his unprecedented 6th term as state Republican Chair, and extend his tenure as the longest serving party chairperson in the nation, Michele Fiore gave an impassioned speech extolling the virtues and values of a Republican party that aligned with Mr. Trump’s vision. With her words receiving rapturous applause, Fiore knew that her announcement for Governor, slated for the following Tuesday, would generate both support and derision, however she also was aware of something that few others knew. An upcoming visit by Mr. Trump to the state of Nevada in November. A visit where a meeting would take place between Ms. Fiore and Mr.Trump which would net her the prized endorsement.
Surprising some observers was the choice by the Fiore camp to engage with political strategist Rory McShane. Despite Fiore’s previously frosty relations with McShane, Mr. McShane’s ties to those in the Trump orbit were a key component in her hiring of his firm. Having secured a Trump endorsement for client Jim Marchant in the late stages of the 2020 congressional race and being a friend and advisor to Trumpist Representatives Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, Rory McShane had the ability to scuttle the Fiore-Trump partnership which McDonald worked hard to secure. Fiore, not willing to risk continued animosity with McShane and with it the loss of impending support from Trump, neutralized her former foe by putting him on payroll and giving McShane an entrée into the battle for top of the ticket,
In the span of 6 weeks, with a Trumpian team fully in place and Trump himself ready to defend her Fiore, the two time failed congressional candidate turned FBI target and now would be governor, has offered a siren’s song of venomous hope to her faithful supporters and a major headache to those who have tried for more than a decade to ignore her.