Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning withdrew his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks’ (R-Huntsville) bid for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Last week, Washington Examiner reported on an interview the outlet conducted with Trump during which he expressed his grievances with Brooks’ performance in the race. The outlet referenced Yellowhammer News’ reporting of a McLaughlin & Associates poll, which showed that the congressman had dropped to third-place, well behind U.S. Army veteran Mike Durant and former Business Council of Alabama CEO Katie Britt.

In a statement emailed to media through Trump’s Save America PAC, the former president asserted that Brooks had not sufficiently honed in on matters relating to election integrity and the 2020 presidential election.

Trump pointed to of Brooks’ comments made during last year’s rally in Cullman where the congressman told rally goers to “look ahead” to the midterm elections rather than focus on the former president’s election loss.

“When I endorsed Mo Brooks, he took a 44-point lead and was unstoppable. He then hired a new campaign staff who ‘brilliantly’ convinced him to ‘stop talking about the 2020 Election.’ He listened to them,” stated Trump. “Then, according to polls, Mo’s 44-point lead totally evaporated all based on his ‘2020’ statement made at our massive rally in Cullman, Alabama. When I heard his statement, I said, ‘Mo, you just blew the Election, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’”

“Very sad but, since he decided to go in another direction, so have I, and I am hereby withdrawing my Endorsement of Mo Brooks for the Senate,” added the former president. “I don’t think the great people of Alabama will disagree with me. Election Fraud must be captured and stopped, or we won’t have a Country anymore. I will be making a new Endorsement in the near future.”

Yellowhammer News has requested comment from Brooks’ campaign.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL