Several Republican lawmakers are showing enthusiasm for a potential 2024 run from President Trump, Politico reports.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) went so far as to say he would support Trump’s candidacy if he chooses to run, while Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he “should run and would have the support” of the Republican Party.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), both of whom have had their names floated as potential presidential candidates, also indicated to Politico that they’d back Trump’s effort to return to the White House, as did Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who said the U.S. “would benefit tremendously” from another Trump term. Blackburn, though, is still holding out hope Trump will win his doomed battle to overturn the 2020 results.
Not everyone was overtly enthusiastic, however, including some of Trump’s notable allies like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who declined to comment. Cotton is another senator many speculate could launch his own bid, so he may be keeping things close to the vest. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), meanwhile, said he doesn’t talk about hypotheticals, a point echoed by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) may have been the hardest to read. He repeated his opinion that Trump would be the clear favorite if he ran, but didn’t hint one way or another how he’d feel about it. “I know it’s an interesting story, but I have no idea,” he told Politico.