AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
- Former President Trump is actively seeking to oust Gov. Kay Ivey from office, according to The WSJ.
- The former president reportedly blames Ivey for a summer rally that was set to be held in Mobile.
- Trump's plan is to convince a GOP candidate to end her Senate bid and instead primary Ivey.
Former President Donald Trump is reportedly angling to oust Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama from office because he faults her for a canceled rally that was set to be held this summer in the deeply-conservative state, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The past summer, the former president sought to hold a July 4 weekend rally in Mobile as a way to continue engaging with supporters who continue to back his "Make Again Great Again" political agenda.
However, the event was scrapped after local officials were concerned that the gathering would be too political in nature since it would be held at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.
"After the request was made, there was contact with the Republican Party ... and then it became apparent that it was going to be a partisan political event, rather than just a patriotic event planned for that evening," wrote Bill Tunnell, the park commission chairman, in a letter outlining the decision at the time.
Trump eventually held a rally in Cullman, Ala., in August, but he is reportedly still upset with Ivey over the decision made by the USS Alabama Battleship Commission.
The former president has floated endorsing former US Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard over Ivey in a potential 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary if she ends her current bid to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, according to advisors who spoke with The Journal.
While the governor serves as the honorary chairman of the commission, a spokesperson told The Journal that she played no role in the decision to nix the July rally.
Convincing Blanchard to switch races would benefit Trump politically, as he has already endorsed conservative Rep. Mo Brooks of Huntsville to run in the open Senate seat in 2022.
Shelby earlier this year threw his support behind Katie Britt, his former chief of staff, describing her as the "best-qualified candidate to come along in a long time."
Ivey, a longtime statewide official, has served as governor since 2017 and has been a reliable Trump supporter.
In May 2018, the governor signed a letter advocating for the then-president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts with North and South Korea.
"It isn't often that presidents follow through on their promises; yet, President Trump is proving time and again that he isn't like most presidents. I am thankful to the president for the conservative, smaller-government direction he is taking our nation and for his efforts in ensuring that our world is a safer place," she said in a statement at the time.
When Trump visited Alabama for his Cullman rally, the governor posted a series of photos on Twitter that showed her greeting the former president.
"I was honored and thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Sweet Home Alabama today," Ivey said in a statement. "His America First Agenda is something that we believe in firmly here in Alabama."
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