Jeff Gunter failed to earn Donald Trump’s coveted endorsement in the race for Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat, and he’s showcasing his sour grapes for everyone to see.
Trump endorsed former Army Captain and Purple Heart awardee Sam Brown in the Nevada Senate race Sunday, all but locking up a Republican primary win for Brown and the chance to take on Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) – one of this cycle’s most vulnerable senators.
Army veteran Sam Brown poses for a photo on July 11, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal/File/Tribune News Service via Getty)
Gunter, Trump’s former ambassador to Iceland and Brown’s opponent, did not take Trump’s endorsement of Brown well, making unsubstantiated claims on X Monday disparaging the endorsement as a pay-to-play scheme.
Here’s the gist of what happened:
— Dr. Jeff Gunter (@DrJeffGunter) June 10, 2024
-Scam is told by his handlers he’s getting endorsed at the rally
-some awesome & fearless MAGA warriors make it clear this would be a terrible idea. “DON’T DO IT.”
-DJT doesn’t endorse at rally.
-NRSC McConnell swamp freaks out
-On plane… https://t.co/tkDtmFkEli
Gunter later took to Beltway media to amplify his accusations while attempting to disassociate his attacks from Trump himself.
“I do think that he’s surrounded by handlers who, you know, probably have other vested interests in other candidates,” Gunter told Politico after his tweet, alleging National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Steve Daines (R-MT) used his political muscle to sabotage Gunter’s campaign.
The NRSC and Trump’s campaign vociferously denied Gunter’s charges.
“Numerous reputable vendors met with Jeff Gunter and decided he was not a serious candidate, with no path to victory,” NRSC Spokesman Mike Berg told Politico. “His insane rant proves their judgment was correct.”
Dr. Jeff Gunter, Sept. 7, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Daniel Pearson/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty)
More troubling for Gunter, Trump’s campaign signaled potential ramifications for Gunter, perhaps down the road.
“He’s mad because he didn’t earn the endorsement of President Trump — I understand that, but that doesn’t give him the right … to cast aspersions or to make up bullshit attacking President Trump and his campaign,” Chris LaCivita told Politico.
Gunter “should be very mindful about poking the bear one too many times, because I will promise you, you’ll get your ass bit,” he added.
Politico reports Gunter shared details of snubs of his campaign he attributes to Daines and the NRSC, beginning with a GOP consulting firm, The Strategy Group, which Gunter alleges backed out of working with him after NRSC threats.
A person at The Strategy Group denied Gunter’s claims, asserting his lack of ability to win inspired their decision.
Gunter’s accusations spurred ridicule from the NRSC; Berg said “Gunter’s insane rant made him sound like Adam Schiff on a witch hunt, which makes sense, because Gunter is also a California Democrat.”
Gunter has peddled other bizarre claims in addition to his accusations against the NRSC.
Years ago, he appeared in sketchy late-night infomercials hawking anti-wrinkle skin serum that at least one man said in a lawsuit led to him getting infected with a terrible disease.
As Breitbart News reported exclusively in May:
One man who says he did end up buying the Youthology serum that Gunter was selling said in a lawsuit that the experience was a disaster for him. David Schumacher, a California man, filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court in 2009 alleging that Gunter’s miracle serum was really a nightmare for him.
“Plaintiff, while using defendant’s product Youthology, Clinical Essentials, 90 second wrinkle eye serum, contracted necrotizing fasciitis, sepsis, and permanent disfigurement, internal organ injury, and scarring around plaintiff’s eyes, and other injuries,” the lawsuit document reads. “Defendants and each of them manufactured or assembled, designed, or manufactured component parts and/or processes, marketed, advertised, failed to test, and warranted the product to be safe for public use.”
Gunter is named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit. Later filings in the court case note that Gunter was dismissed as a defendant from the lawsuit, and Youthology settled with the plaintiff. Other filings show the various doctors Schumacher saw as he dealt with necrotizing fasciitis and the horrible processes he went through as he presented at the emergency room where doctors took him in for immediate surgery to remove parts of his face where this infection was spreading.
Gunter’s lucrative dermatology operations garnered additional criticism and legal trouble.
The doctor has an astounding 1.8-star rating (out of 5 possible stars) on RateMDs.com, with a number of former patients painting shocking portraits of him, NBC News reported.
Reviews from Gunter’s patients call him “arrogant,” “condescending,” “rude,” and “HORRIBLE,” even warning other potential patients to look elsewhere for medical care.
Critically, many of the reviews were made long before Gunter entered politics.
“This guy is the reason why medical malpractice suits exist,” one reviewer wrote, adding “his attitude towards us made me realize he should not be allowed anywhere near my body with a sharp instrument so I left abruptly and immediately filed a complaint with the CA Medical Board.
“Something needs to be done. He is dangerous and completely ill-suited for this type of work.”
Gunter was in fact named as a defendant in two medical malpractice lawsuits in California in 2006 and 2007. Both of those suits were settled between the parties.
Gunter’s campaign said in a statement to NBC News that the malpractice claims in which he was listed as a defendant did not involve patients he personally had treated.
Gunter blamed Daines and the NRSC for digging up questions about his medical practice history.
Troubling reports from Gunter’s time as an ambassador (2019-2021) have followed him as well.
A 2021 report about Gunter by the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General found that he fostered a “threatening and intimidating environment” at the embassy and that his “frequent failure to respect diplomatic protocol or to coordinate with the Icelandic Government” led American diplomats to work around him during his tenure in office.
The Nevada Republican primaries take place today, June 11.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
