'You Just Don't Get Any Worse': Donald Trump Brutally Attacks Lisa Murkowski in a Midnight Post

President Donald Trump has ignited a fierce intra-party feud after launching an explosive late-night tirade against Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski over her opposition to a controversial federal election lawsuit in Alaska.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, 24 October 2026, Trump branded the veteran Alaskan lawmaker a 'disgrace' and declared her the party's 'worst senator by far' for publicly criticising a Justice Department complaint seeking to restrict the certification of Alaska's upcoming midterm election results.

In a late-night post, he also said, 'You just don't get any worse!' The attack followed Murkowski's criticism of the lawsuit involving two similarly named Senate candidates. The case seeks to prevent certification of Alaska's forthcoming election results under specific circumstances.

Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola and another candidate, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., in the November election. Murkowski argued that Alaska's ballot already distinguishes the candidates and that federal intervention was unnecessary.

While Murkowski condemned the federal intervention as wholly unwarranted by noting that official state ballots already explicitly distinguish the incumbent, Trump claimed the retired teacher's candidacy represented an orchestrated Democratic plot abetted by the state's ranked-choice voting model.

The high-stakes clash exposes deepening fractures within the Republican Party just days before polling opens on 3 November.

Donald Trump Accuses Murkowski of Supporting an Election 'SCAM'

Trump described Murkowski as 'The Republicans' Worst Senator, by far' in his post, published at 11.13pm Eastern Time. He accused her of benefiting from Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, used during her successful 2022 re-election campaign.

He called the system a 'TOTAL DEMOCRAT SCAM meant to confuse the Voter'. Trump also alleged that Democrats had orchestrated Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy to divert votes from the Republican incumbent.

'He is only there because the Democrats want to steal the Election,' Trump wrote. He suggested Murkowski 'probably wants that to happen' because she opposed the federal lawsuit.

Neither allegation establishes that Democrats organised the candidacy or that Murkowski supported electoral manipulation. Democrats have denied involvement in Daniel J. Sullivan's campaign.

Trump attached an image of Alaska's Senate ballot marked 'SCAM!' in red letters. The incumbent appears as 'Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent', while his namesake appears as 'Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.'

The second candidate's missing party designation does not mean he is unregistered as a Republican. The ballot distinguishes the men through their middle initials and the incumbent's additional labels.

Alaska election officials initially sought to exclude Daniel J. Sullivan over concerns that his candidacy could mislead voters. State courts overturned that decision, and Alaska's Supreme Court upheld his inclusion on the ballot in June.

Daniel J. Sullivan has denied entering the race to deceive voters. In an August interview, he said his candidacy reflected dissatisfaction with the incumbent senator and what he considered Alaska's declining conditions.

Trump also urged voters to support Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal ranked-choice general elections and restore partisan primaries. The proposal would additionally reverse certain campaign finance provisions.

Murkowski, who has represented Alaska since 2002, previously opposed Trump during his second impeachment trial. Her criticism of the lawsuit is particularly notable because she has endorsed Senator Sullivan's re-election.

Donald Trump's Justice Department Lawsuit Faces Democratic Opposition

The Justice Department filed its federal complaint on 22 October, alleging that Daniel J. Sullivan intended to mislead voters. That allegation has not been established by the court.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent certification only if the incumbent loses and transferring his namesake's votes would change the result. Such a hypothetical transfer would also have to account for Alaska's ranked-choice voting process.

Under those circumstances, the department wants an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended for the incumbent.

Alaskans for Mary, Peltola's campaign organisation, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sought to intervene as defendants on 23 October. Their filing argued that the government was presenting voters with a 'Hobson's choice'.

They warned that Alaskans 'must elect Senator Dan S. Sullivan or the President will not let them elect anyone at all'. That statement represents the Democrats' legal argument, not a judicial finding.

Trump has acknowledged directing the lawsuit, telling reporters, 'I'm the one that said do it'. On Sunday, 25 October, Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the department's action. Speaking to CBS News, he said officials wanted to 'put guardrails in place' against possible voter confusion, rather than overturn an election.

The competing arguments leave the federal court to consider whether election certification should be restricted under the circumstances outlined by the government.

Alaska's ballots distinguish the candidates, but the Justice Department maintains that confusion remains possible. No federal court finding has established that such confusion has affected an election result.

With the 3 November vote approaching, the dispute remains unresolved. Murkowski's criticism and Trump's response have exposed a Republican disagreement over federal intervention in Alaska's election process.