Trump targets this SC candidate with a primary day tweet

President Donald Trump made his feelings about one S.C. candidate known just hours before polls closed in the state primary.

Trump took aim at U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Charleston, in a tweet on Tuesday, the same day Sanford faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Katie Arrington.

"Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA," the president tweeted, using the initials for his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."

"He is MIA and nothing but trouble," Trump said.

Then the tweet got personal, with Trump saying Sanford is "better off in Argentina."

Sanford secretly traveled to Argentina to see his mistress in 2009, while famously claiming to be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. The publicity around the trip destroyed Sanford's marriage, but he was still able to win election to his old seat in Congress in 2013.

Sanford is in a tight race for the Republican nomination in South Carolina's 1st District on Tuesday. Arrington has criticized Sanford throughout the campaign for his differences with Trump.

"I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love," Trump continued. "She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!"

Sanford was critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, and has found himself on opposite sides with the president since.

With his late entry into the race, Trump let Sanford know that has not gone unnoticed.

On Wednesday, Trump followed up after Arrington defeated Sanford in the 1st District primary.

"My political representatives didn’t want me to get involved in the Mark Sanford primary thinking that Sanford would easily win," Trump tweeted, but decided "Sanford was so bad, I had to give it a shot."

"Congrats to Katie Arrington!" Trump tweeted.

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Trump targets this SC candidate with a primary day tweet."