President Donald Trump called Don Blankenship after pushing for the one-time candidate's loss in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, Politico is reporting.
The two spoke briefly on Wednesday with the conversation being described as cordial, Politico said, attributing the information to three people familiar with the president's call.
Trump had intervened in the GOP primary race, tweeting several times that Blankenship could not beat Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin and urging voters to back State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey or Rep. Evan Jenkins. Morrisey was the eventual winner in the race.
In 2015, Blankenship, 69, was convicted of conspiring to violate safety rules at a mine he owned, where an explosion killed 29 miners in 2010. Blankenship served a year in prison.
Politico reported that Blankenship released an "open letter" to Trump on Wednesday, accusing the president of spreading "fake news against me."
"Your interference in the West Virginia election displayed a lack of understanding of the likely outcome of the upcoming general election," Blankenship added. "Patrick Morrisey will likely lose the general election. It's too late to change that, but it's not helpful to do to me what others are doing to you."
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