Why? He says he should have planned ahead like that to try and head off obvious criticisms, but it's clear this was a decision sent to him for review. Endorseme

Why? He says he should have planned ahead like that to try and head off obvious criticisms, but it's clear this was a decision sent to him for review. Endorsements tend to happen before elections, so the timing wasn't chosen by him. I don't know why anyone would disbelieve this. The justification as written is fully rational and not unexpected.