South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford warned of tribal partisanship Thursday morning, after losing his Republican primary Wednesday.

Mr. Sanford explained when asked if he was “for or against” President Trump that he tried to give a “nuanced” answer. However, he felt that the race came down to dedication to a person, which was “alarmingly dangerous.”

“We swear allegiance to the Constitution. We pledge allegiance to the flag. What was weird about this race, that I’ve never experienced in any race I’ve been apart of, was an allegiance question,” he said on the “Morning Joe” show.

Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Sanford and endorsed his rival just hours before the polls closed on Tuesday.

Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2018

The congressman emphasized that while he challenged Mr. Trump on some issues, his voting record mostly followed the president’s agenda.

“His degree of focus on personal things, ‘If you offend me, I’m coming back to get you’ is a little outside the norm,” Mr. Sanford said.

The congressman said this kind of politics damaged one of America’s founding principles, the separation of powers.

“The politics are easy: Pledge allegiance to Donald Trump,” Mr. Sanford said, “But I think that’s a mistake at a soul level.”

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