Donald Trump claims Chad Chronister didn’t ‘pull out,’ says he ‘pulled him out’

President-elect Donald Trump, the day after Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister removed himself as Trump’s nominee for Drug Enforcement Agency Administrator, says he’s the one who nixed Chronister, not the other way around. 

On Sunday, Trump announced that he had selected Chronister to head the DEA and Chronister responded that the nomination was “the honor of a lifetime.” By Tuesday, Chronister maintained that his nomination was an honor but said he was removing himself from consideration in favor of continuing work with the Sheriff’s office. 

Now, Trump says that’s not the case, arguing in a post to his Truth Social that he was the one who axed Chronister from the DEA post. The post reacted to a Wall Street Journal headline in which Trump took a particular issue. 

“The Wall Street Journal is becoming more and more obnoxious and unreadable. Today’s main headline is: ‘Trump’s DEA Pick Pulls Out In Latest Setback.’ With all that’s happening in the World, this is their Number One story of the day,” Trump wrote Wednesday.

“Besides, he didn’t pull out; I pulled him out because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters.”

Trump didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “my pastors,” but it’s likely a reference to criticism Chronister faced from conservatives regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chronister, often seen as a moderating voice in conservative politics in Hillsborough County, during the early stages of the pandemic announced the arrest of Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, for having conducted a service during the height of social distancing policies. The charges were ultimately dropped, but it didn’t stop some Republicans from viewing the issue as disqualifying, including U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Chip Roy of Texas.

Chronister maintains his version of events.

“Sheriff Chronister stands behind his decision to withdraw from consideration. Right now, his priority, as it has been for the last seven years, remains the mission to protect and serve everyone in Hillsborough County,” his office provided in a statement.

But while Trump seemed to set the record straight on the Chronister about-face, his ire appeared more directly with the Wall Street Journal.

“But, more importantly, what’s my “latest” setback??? I just won the Presidency of the United States,” Trump wrote with an exclamation point. “They (the Wall Street Journal) haven’t written a good story about me in YEARS. Somebody over there ought to look at what they’re doing. The only one worse than them is stupid, China-centric Forbes Magazine!”

Both The Wall Street Journal and Forbes are widely believed to be centrist publications, though some liberals would argue they lean conservative. 

The media bias ranking site All Sides puts both Forbes and Wall Street Journal nearly dead center on its bias rating, with both leaning just a hair to the left of the center category. That starkly contrasts with outlets Trump tends to praise, such as Fox News and Newsmax. All Sides rates Fox in its right category, signaling it displays “media bias in ways that strongly align with conservative, traditional, or right-wing thought and/or police agendas.” The outlet notes that its “right bias” rating is its most conservative. Newsmax and One America News also received that ranking.