The Bad Blood Between Donald Trump And John Thune Explained

Donald Trump has made it clear, over the years, that he's not opposed to making enemies — even with members of his own party. South Dakota Senator John Thune has found himself on the receiving end of Trump's wrath on many occasions. However, while Thune has gone on to endorse Trump more recently (more on that later), in years past, he hasn't held back from his own thoughts on the former president.

Trump's first comments on Thune came in June 2020. Hot off the heels of a poll undertaken by The New York Times and Siena College finding that Trump was less popular with their sample of voters, Thune shared his take. Speaking to NBC News reporters, Thune mused that Trump's tone had a lot to do with it.

Trump didn't respond to Thune's sentiments at the time, but a showdown (read: social media clapback) was inevitable. A few months later, Trump lost the election and tried to contest it. When, as Argus Leader reported, Thune told the press that he wasn't on board with that, Trump didn't hold back. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he complained, "RINO John Thune, 'Mitch's boy,' should just let it play out." If you didn't know, "RINO" means Republican In Name Only. Trump also mused that Thune's take would see him ousted in his next run for senate. As he put it, "He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!"

Donald Trump didn't leave his attempts at ousting John Thune at just one social media post. Around two weeks after that first rant, he even identified an alternative for those considering voting for someone new. In an X post dated January 1, 2021, Trump shared that he'd be all for South Dakota governor Kristi Noem nabbing the spot. "I hope to see the great Governor of South Dakota @KristiNoem, run against RINO @SenJohnThune, in the upcoming 2022 Primary. She would do a fantastic job in the U.S. Senate," he wrote.

Unfortunately for Trump, his relationship with Noem wasn't enough to convince her to run against Thune. In an X post of her own, she shut the suggestion down fast, explaining, "@Johnthune is a friend of mine, and I will not be challenging him." Oop.

Luckily, Trump had made provision in his post for the possibility that Thune might not want to run. In fact, he'd made it abundantly clear that he'd be happy to see literally anyone else challenge his foe. "If not Kristi, others are already lining up. South Dakota wants strong leadership, NOW!" he wrote. Thune was re-elected in 2022. In doing so, he became the second South Dakota senator in history to secure a fourth term.

A few days after Donald Trump attempted to pinpoint a replacement for John Thune, the January 6 insurrection happened. The situation led to a ton of Republican politicians slamming Trump for the role he played in it — and probably unsurprisingly, Thune was among the voices criticizing him. 

Thune ultimately voted not to impeach Trump at the trial that would follow, but he clarified that that was because Trump had left office by then. However, he didn't mince his words regarding how he felt about the former president. "What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable," he shared in a statement posted to his website. 

That said, it appears the longstanding senator has had a change of heart. Trump, who himself seemed to be done with the Republican party at one point, thanks to the criticisms he'd got, will likely be the 2024 Republican candidate — and Thune is backing him. Taking to X on February 27, 2024, CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, shared that Thune had told him the decision came down to it being the party's choice. "It's a binary choice. It's him, or it's Biden," he explained. It's not the most enthusiastic rationale, but we'll wait to see how this beef-turned-whatever-it-is-now pans out.