MaddowBlog-Elise Stefanik learns a painful lesson on the limits of Trump's loyalties

[LetMyPeopleVote]

As the New York congresswoman came to realize, loyalty is something the president expects to receive, not to bestow.

Mike Pence learned the lesson. So did Kevin McCarthy, Reince Priebus, and Ronna McDaniel.

Now, Elise Stefanik has learned the same lesson: Loyalty is something Trump expects to receive, not to bestow. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-22T20:19:28.937Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/elise-stefanik-learns-a-painful-lesson-on-the-limits-of-trumps-loyalties

It’s the same lesson that Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who unexpectedly announced her retirement late last week, learned in painful fashion over the course of 2025. The New York Times summarized:

Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, was willing to be the team player with the stiff upper lip.

But everyone has their limits. After a series of public humiliations delivered to her by President Trump … Ms. Stefanik on Friday afternoon announced she’d had enough.

......When Stefanik launched a gubernatorial campaign, the conventional wisdom suggested she’d get an endorsement, at a minimum, from the president she’d sacrificed her reputation to support. That didn’t happen: Trump hedged, a GOP primary rival emerged, and the president’s neutrality made her path to success that much more difficult.

And that’s about the point when Stefanik seems to have decided to retire from politics altogether, at least for the time being. The Times’ report, which includes details that haven’t been independently confirmed by MS NOW, added that the GOP lawmaker is “privately livid at Mr. Trump and deeply frustrated with her job in Congress,” creating uncertainty as to “whether Ms. Stefanik even has any interest in finishing her term.”

Shortly after she announced her retirement plans, the president published a brief item to his social media platform, offering her praise and concluding, “I am with her all the way!”

Of course, if that were true, Stefanik wouldn’t have made the decision to walk away.

With trump, loyalty is a one-way street. trump has no loyalty to anyone else