Trump is indicating he plans to run again so long as he still has a good bill of health. But he may face skepticism from surprising conservative corners of the GOP.
Republicans largely oppose forming a commission to examine the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, hoping to block out further Donald Trump-induced chaos while they try to retake Congress next year.
The former president is making clear he isn’t going anywhere.
Trump is confiding in allies that he intends to run again in 2024 with one contingency: that he still has a good bill of health, according to two sources close to the former president. That means Trump is going to hang over the Republican Party despite its attempts to rebrand during his exile and its blockade of a Trump-centric investigation into January’s insurrection.
And amid news that the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that could decide to indict Trump, other executives working for him or the business itself, Trump publicly signaled this week that he’s considering another run. But he may face skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP, as some Republicans who supported him consistently during his presidency have mixed opinions about the possibility of a Trump 2024 campaign, according to interviews with 20 Republicans in both the House and Senate.
“President Trump did a lot of good. But he squandered a lot of his legacy after what happened after Nov. 3. And I think that’s a shame,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who was the GOP whip for Trump’s first two years in office. “Running for president, you’re under a lot of scrutiny. And all I can say is there’s a lot to talk about.”
Even without a Twitter presence, the former president still dominates the Republican water cooler. He’s working to oust those who backed his impeachment, namely Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), as well as boost his preferred candidates in battleground Senate primaries.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the middleman between Trump and the Hill GOP these days, said that the ex-president’s plans to devise a still-nascent “America First” messaging drive will put Trump “in charge of the policy agenda.” And Trump’s future, his semi-regular golfing partner suggested, might hinge on how his party handles the next 18 months.
“It’s more likely than not that he does” run, Graham said. “How we do in 2022 will have a big effect on his viability. If we do well in 2022, it helps his cause. I want him to keep the option open.”
Multiple Republicans, however, say Trump’s appeal can be replicated by someone without the baggage of two impeachments, a Capitol riot he stoked, groundless challenges to his election loss and a barrage of inflammatory statements. Those GOP lawmakers believe their party is more competitive than it was five years ago but that Trump himself may no longer be the best standard-bearer.
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Trump publicly signaled this week that he’s considering another run but he may face skepticism from surprising corners of the GOP https://t.co/P0UbGJZt0L
— POLITICO (@politico) May 27, 2021
The GOP’s four camps on a Trump 2024 campaign
By OLIVIA BEAVERS
05/27/2021……..
Burgess and I found in our interviews with 20 House and Senate Republicans that there were certainly mixed opinions about whether Trump should run again in 2024. They largely fall into four buckets:
1. Republicans who are burning for Trump to run again. Members like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) or Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who told me: “Why have a carbon copy?… Why would we not support the original?”
2. Republicans who pick political viability — they want whoever stands the best chance of winning back the White House. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) when asked who he wants to run in 2024, replied: “The person that can best save this country — whoever that is.”
3. Quite a few Republicans want fresh skin in the game. They will privately say that they would prefer that Trump take a back seat and help the party, but not seek to be the GOP nominee again (paging the 400 2024 hopefuls).
4. Then there are the GOP lawmakers who are essentially thinking: Dear lord, please not again. Members like Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) have already made their position clear, but this is a sentiment shared by some who are keeping quiet about their disapproval — at least for now.
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