By Christina Zhao
Senior news editor
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With days till Election Day, Republican Congressman John Katko of New York has called Donald Trump a "knucklehead" and said he personally doesn't like the president despite endorsing his re-election campaign.
Katko endorsed Trump in January, but on Thursday he sought to distance himself from the president by insisting that he supports his policies but not his rhetoric. "Of course, Trump is a knucklehead," Katko said during a virtual forum on Thursday night, according to local news. "I don't like him as a person. I don't like his rhetoric. I don't like his lack of discipline."
"When I talk about supporting the president, it's not a blanket endorsement," the congressman explained. "Oh my god, there's not a single picture, not a single clip that anyone can produce, showing I even had a picture with the guy. I don't like him."
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The third-term GOP lawmaker also encouraged Central New Yorkers to vote for Republicans on November 3 regardless of what they think of Trump. "I'm more concerned about your pocketbook," he said. "I'm more concerned about your economic opportunity. And I'm more concerned about where we are going as a country."
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Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
The Democratic Party targeted Katko and another Central New York Republican lawmaker in the 2018 midterm election cycle by exploiting anti-Trump sentiments shared by voters in the 24th Congressional District. The strategy worked in unseating Trump defender Claudia Tenney, but Katko, a more moderate lawmaker, succeeded in fending off his Democratic challenger Dana Balter.
Katko—who voted against impeaching Trump last year—criticized the president during three debates this month against Balter. His remarks came as polls showed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continuing his substantial lead over Trump in the district.
A recent Siena College/Syracuse.com poll had the former vice president ahead by 14 percentage points, with 53 percent of support among voters in the district. Katko and Batler remained tied—45 to 45—in the same survey.
Balter on Saturday told voters to dismiss Katko's latest comments about Trump as merely politics. "What I can tell you is there has been no change in his message and his support for the president," she said, according to Syracuse.com. "He did not say anything different in this forum than he has before. It doesn't matter whether or not he likes the guy. What matters is whether he supports him."
The Democratic candidate also said Trump is "dangerous for this country" and criticized her opponent for attempting to justify his support for the president. "The problem with Donald Trump is not a few ill-chosen words," she said.
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