Johnson’s ‘Trump Tailgate’ spurs backlash from Trump team; he calls James endorsement ‘bad advice’

Perry Johnson is a NEVER TRUMPER who ran against @realDonaldTrump in the 2024 election.

Now in the Michigan governor’s race, he’s hosting a “Trump Tailgate” despite not having the Trump endorsement.@JohnJamesMI is the ONLY Trump-endorsed candidate, a state POTUS won BIG in… https://t.co/9TWpZzSYci

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) July 21, 2026

Johnson responded directly to the post, saying, “I love President Trump and proudly support him. I have said time and time again I think he is our greatest President,” before posting an hour later a clip of himself speaking in support of Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention. A spokesperson for his campaign deferred to that statement in response to a request for additional comment.

“Team Trump’s post pretty much sums it up,” Alyvia Bailey, James’ campaign press secretary, said. “Perry Johnson is a never-Trumper who spent $30 million running against President Trump. President Trump gave his complete and total endorsement to John James. Perry Johnson should stop gaslighting voters.”

James also reposted the Team Trump post with a bullseye emoji in response.

Johnson’s tailgate is being held the same day — and in the same county — as Trump is expected to hold a rally in Michigan. 

Asked at a news conference about Trump’s event, Johnson doubled down on a sentiment he expressed shortly after the president’s endorsement of James was announced — that he made that decision on bad advice from his team. 

“I think President Trump’s been a very good president. I never would deny that, but he has a group of advisers that often don’t give him the best possible advice,” he told reporters, citing recent primary losses by Trump-endorsed candidates in Georgia and Iowa. 

Johnson has repeatedly referenced the Trump endorsement directly in his criticisms of James on social media — following two debates between Johnson, James and former Attorney General Mike Cox, who has since dropped out of the race, he posted about “Trump endorsed liberal John James.” On the day of Trump’s endorsement, Johnson said that “Trump-backed statewide candidates like John James, Tudor Dixon, Matt DePerno, and Kristina Karamo all came up short when it mattered most.”

Despite those criticisms, he has remained steadfast in his support for the president, including in a debate in early July, when he said that he could not imagine a situation where a Trump administration policy was harming Michigan, but called Trump “very rational” in terms of how he might respond to that scenario. 

Trump’s Monday rally is expected to be in Oakland County — where the county Republican Party’s chair and vice chair, Vance Patrick and Terri Nallamothu, endorsed Johnson in a move that drew the ire of state party leadership.

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Patrick and Nallamothu specifically said that their statement was “issued in a personal capacity, not in any official capacity relating to the Oakland County Republican Party,” but Michigan GOP Chairman Sen. Jim Runestad criticized them for invoking their offices in the statement. 

“The spirit of the Oakland County Republican Party bylaws is straightforward: party leadership should remain neutral in contested primaries unless the Executive Committee formally authorizes an endorsement. That protects the grassroots’ right to choose their nominee without interference from those entrusted to lead the organization,” Runestad said in a statement on X. “Every Republican is free to support the candidate of their choice. But when party officers repeatedly invoke their leadership roles and responsibilities to persuade Republican voters, many will reasonably view that as an endorsement from the Chairman and Vice Chair—not simply two private individuals.”

Patrick and Nallamothu to themselves in their endorsement as “leaders of the largest Republican county organization in Michigan,” which Runestad quoted in his own response to emphasize his dissatisfaction with the statement. 

Patrick is also listed as a featured guest at Johnson’s “Trump Tailgate” — which has not been rebranded publicly in spite of the pushback from the president’s team. 

“Perry Johnson doesn’t just have the opportunity to win the governor’s race. He has the opportunity to lift every Republican running alongside him. By continuing to aggressively fund his own campaign while allowing more resources to flow to down-ballot races, Perry can help build the kind of coordinated statewide effort our party needs,” Patrick and Nallamothu said. “As county party leaders, that matters enormously. Our responsibility is not simply to elect a governor. It is to elect Republicans at every level of government, and we believe Perry Johnson gives us the best opportunity to do exactly that.”