The Club for Growth became the latest target of Donald Trump’s Twitter ire on Tuesday night after being drawn into a spat over an alleged fundraising request, trading shots with the GOP front-runner about the truthfulness of his accusation and exchanging insults.
Trump, without apparent provocation, tweeted shortly after 10 p.m.: “The president of the pathetic Club For Growth came to my office in N.Y.C. and asked for a ridiculous $1,000,000 contribution. I said no way!”
Minutes later, he added “When I intelligently turned down The Club For Growth crazy request for $1,000,000, they got nasty. What a waste of money that would have been.”
But the Club for Growth, a Super PAC that frequently supports Republican politicians and policies, took issue with Trump’s charges. The conservative advocacy group fired back at the real estate mogul, saying “Actually, @realDonaldTrump asked for that mtg & then asked for races he could support. Thought he could buy us off. Worst Kind of Politician.”
The Club for Growth then tweeted a link to an op-ed it penned in 2011, at which time Trump was weighing a run for president, adding “Club first criticized liberal policies of @realDonaldTrump in 2011.” The op-ed blasts Trump for policies he advocated in his book “The America We Deserve,” released in 2000, including a one-time tax hike on wealthy individuals and organizations to pay down the national debt and fund Social Security, universal healthcare and tariffs on Chinese imports.
The “pathetic Club For Growth” and the “Worst Kind of Politician” appeared to holster their tweets after the exchange — but given the bad blood between the warring parties and Trump’s appetite for Twitter feuds, it’s likely not the last we’ll hear from either side this election cycle.