President Donald Trump took time out this week from desecrating the White House and crippling the economy to make a couple of candidate endorsements in Nevada ahead of Tuesday's primary.

It must have been a refreshing break from dodging questions about skyrocketing fuel and grocery prices due to his decision to attack Iran. Not that he seems concerned about such trivial problems. Or as he put it, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all."

Trump's endorsement of retired Lt. Col. David Flippo in the Republican scrum in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District wasn't a surprise. It would be hard to find a bigger MAGA fanboy than Flippo.

"He is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in Nevada, and many Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives," Trump enthused in his announcement, before pausing to preen. "I won Nevada in a virtual landslide in 2024 and have always done phenomenally well there."

This past week, Trump also endorsed GOP state attorney general candidate Adriana Guzmán Fralick over perennial campaigner and Douglas County Commissioner Danny Tarkanian.

Flippo, whose recent Reno residency has some Northern Nevada Republicans sniffing, managed to one-up his political idol in the hyperbole department, gushing in a statement to The Indy. "President Trump is leading America back to greatness, and I am honored that he has chosen me to fight for him as he makes our country safe again, wealthy again, and most importantly great again."

Not for nothing, but if elected his first duty would be to represent his district, not to fawn at the feet of America's chaos king. That's the problem with MAGA's wide-eyed true believers in Congress: Their hero can do no wrong. Calamitous tariff strategy? Tumbling standing on the world stage? Rising inflation at home?

While the press in Northern Nevada is fielding complaints from James Settelmeyer supporters who question the authenticity of Flippo's residency, their calls of "carpetbagger" aren't validated by the U.S. Constitution. The proud military veteran is good to go.

Settelmeyer is a fourth-generation cattle rancher and looks natural in a cowboy hat. No one with the sense God gave a gopher would look at the Minden resident's record in the state Senate and call it anything but conservative. That doesn't necessarily qualify him for a seat in Congress — although I consider his ability to spot horse manure when he sees it a point in his favor.

What I'm not hearing much braying about is Flippo's adulation for all things Trump. Even in a primary in which the president's diehards might turn out in substantial numbers, I suspect Flippo's man crush isn't a political strategy. It's hero worship.

Settelmeyer is touting endorsements from Gov. Joe Lombardo and exiting 2nd District Rep. Mark Amodei (R), who got up the gumption to scold Trump on social media, calling the Flippo endorsement "an incredibly curious way to say thank you to those people who have been the bedrock of your political endeavors here in original Nevada."

That sounds almost like pushback — unless you've concluded that Settelmeyer would have been crowing about Trump's backing if the president's popularity wasn't in the toilet.

Although 13 candidates crowd the Republican primary, the Settelmeyer-Flippo showdown best illustrates the divide in the Nevada GOP, where state party Chairman Michael McDonald worships Trump at close range. Flippo's brand of conservatism is defined by fealty to a ruler, one whose actions are wreaking havoc on the nation.

If you can't see the direct line between Trump's reckless actions and the misery he's caused for the American people, you have no business in public office. By failing to make even a peep about it, Flippo has disqualified himself. His problem isn't that he lives in Las Vegas or Reno, but that he resides in Trumplandia.

Nevadans are paying an average of more than $5 a gallon for gasoline, sixth highest in the nation. Grocery prices are among the highest in the country. The impact of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Medicaid recipients in the state is still being measured with estimated cuts of nearly $700 million.

Meanwhile, an estimated two-thirds of Americans are changing their travel plans due to the spike in fuel costs and household budget issues. Less travel means fewer tourists in a state whose economy depends on them.

Now, about that 50 percent rise in fuel prices since the start of the war.

"This is peanuts," says Trump, who leaves me wondering whether he's ever driven a car or pumped a gallon of gasoline.

Peanuts, indeed.

As the midterm election season grinds on and Trump's popularity tanks along with the nation's economy, those peanuts are piling up as high as an elephant's eye.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family's Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.