President Donald Trump offered eleventh-hour support for Republican Matt Van Epps by bashing his Democratic opponent on the eve of Tennessee’s 7th District special election.
Trump phoned into a Van Epps rally Monday, urging Tennesseans to vote for the GOP nominee over Democrat Aftyn Behn in a race that could have huge implications for the 2026 midterms. The 7th District includes parts of Nashville, the state’s capital and most populous city.
On the call, Trump told rally attendees that Behn “said two things above all else that bothered me.”
“Number one, she hates Christianity. Number two, she hates country music,” Trump said, speaking through a cellphone held by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “How the hell can you elect a person like that? So I just want to give my total support, and he’s had it right from the beginning, to Matt Van Epps.”
NEW: President Trump talks to voters through the phone after calling Speaker Johnson during a rally for Republican Matt Van Epps in the special election race in Tennessee against Aftyn Behn:
"She said two things above all else that bothered me.
Number 1: She hates Christianity.… pic.twitter.com/Wh9mhaRVvo
Trump’s claim that Behn “hates Christianity” appears to trace back to an audio clip circulated last week by RNC Research, the Republican National Committee’s rapid-response arm.
The recording features Behn discussing her views on prayer in the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly during a 2024 interview on the “Red State Blue Mom” podcast.
“As someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the legislature,” Behn said. “For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer every session.
“There are also prayer groups in the legislature that meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do, and it is uncomfortable.”
Trump’s remark about Behn’s opposition to country music appeared to stem from comments she made in a 2020 podcast interview.
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country,” she said, per The Hill.
Behn, a 36-year-old state representative, disputed Trump’s characterization of her remarks Monday in an interview with Newsweek.
“President Trump is saying all these things because he doesn’t have a plan to address the rising cost of health care and to ensure that working Tennesseans are able to afford health care, groceries and utilities,” Behn told Newsweek.
Republicans have held the 7th District for four decades, and recent polling shows Van Epps as the strong favorite heading into Tuesday’s election. He will seek to replace former Rep. Mark Green, who retired from Congress in July.
Early voters favor Behn 56% to 42%, while those planning to vote on Election Day lean toward Van Epps 51% to 39%, according to an Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey.
Republicans have won the district by significant margins in the past eight elections. Though redistricting after the 2020 census made the district somewhat less Republican, Green still won by 21 points in 2022 and 2024.
A long-shot upset by Behn would reduce the GOP’s slim six-seat majority in the House as Democrats seek to regain control of the chamber in 2026.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nick Moyle is a Sr. Trending Politics Writer/Supervisor.
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