Georgia Dem Ossoff: ‘I don’t have great personal admiration’ for Trump

Democratic House candidate Jon Ossoff on Monday drew a line between his respect for the presidency and his dislike of President Trump himself.

“I have great respect for the office,” he said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball” with Chris Matthews. “I don’t have great personal admiration for the man himself.”

Ossoff is running against a crowded field of Republicans in a special House election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. While the district typically leans Republican, Ossoff has managed to lead the crowded field of candidates in a “jungle primary” that will pit candidates of all parties against one another. 

If Ossoff can achieve a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s election, he’ll avert a runoff with the other best-performing candidate. Trump, who has waded into the race in its final days with tweets and a robocall, wrote on Twitter Monday night that a runoff would mean an “easy win” for the GOP.

{mosads}The competitive campaign is widely seen as an early referendum on the Trump administration. It follows a special election for a Kansas House seat last week that resulted in a narrow Republican win in a district that has otherwise been considered safe for the GOP.

While Ossoff may not admire Trump on a personal level, he said he would be willing to work with him on areas of mutual interest such as infrastructure.

“What I hope is that he’ll show good faith and sound judgment,” he said. “I’d be interested, for example, on working with him on an infrastructure bill that could deliver real solutions to Georgia so we can keep growing our local economy here.

“I think there’s room to work across the aisle, and I’ll work with anyone who has the best interest of this community at heart. I’ll stand up to anyone who does not, regardless of their party.”