Hogan indirectly calls out Trump comments at NABJ convention: ‘Unacceptable and abhorrent’

Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan posted on X that it’s “unacceptable and abhorrent to attack Vice President Harris or anyone’s racial identity. The American people deserve better” on Wednesday in an indirect attack on former President Donald Trump.

Trump has been widely criticized for his comments on Kamala Harris’s racial identity in which he claimed the vice president “was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a black person.”

Hogan has been a vocal Trump critic, though his animosity has often been nameless as he grows closer to his Maryland U.S. Senate November general election bid against Angela Alsobrooks. He’s tasked with winning heavily blue Maryland, a tall order for a Republican. But Hogan is a noted centrist and has embraced an abortion-rights background.

Trump offered Hogan his endorsement, but he quickly rejected it and has dodged associating with Trump despite Republicans giving support to the former governor. Hogan appears to be a GOP wild card in the party’s quest to flip the Senate in their favor.

Lara Trump called Hogan out in June for tweeting that people should accept the result of Trump’s New York trial, saying he “doesn’t deserve the respect” of any Republican. Donald Trump himself has avoided criticizing Hogan, likely not wishing to turn any Republican voters away from him, but said in June he “would like to see” Hogan win.

Despite Hogan’s popularity in the state, Alsobrooks is favored to win the Senate race, leading recent polling and utilizing Maryland’s large Democratic base.