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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 02: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) leaves the Senate Chambers in the Capitol Building on August 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Senate has moved on to the amendments process this week for the legislative text of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which aims to improve roads, bridges, dams, climate resiliency and broadband Internet access.
Former United States President Donald Trump continues his baseless attacks on the 2020 elections and argues voter fraud in response to his presidential loss against Democrat Joe Biden as Sen. Bill Cassidy doubts the Republican businessman will win the 2024 elections.
During an interview, Cassidy was asked if he assumed that former President Trump would run in the presidential elections in 2024. The Louisiana Republican lawmaker said that whether or not Trump decided to run was not knowledge to anyone.
Donald Trump and Republicans
Cassidy said that even if Trump runs, he is not guaranteed to win the nomination due to being the first president, at least in the Republican party, to lose the House, Senate, and presidency, in just four years. He was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial in February for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
"Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty," Cassidy said at the time, Newsweek reported.
On the other hand, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Sunday that former President Trump's continued attacks on the 2020 elections could result in a "disaster" for other GOP candidates running for office in next year's midterm elections.
During an interview, Hutchinson said the Republican party was better off being served by focusing on issues that are pertinent to the country's future. He said that they should no longer revisit last year's hotly-contested presidential election where Biden won over Trump.
Hutchinson said that litigating 2020 is a "recipe for disaster" in 2022 and argued instead to talk about the future. The Arkansas governor said the previous elections have already passed and are certified. He argued that states made improvements where the need was found, Yahoo News reported.
Waning Loyalties
The situation comes as many Republicans worry about their future due to Trump's continued conspiracy theories. Over the past week, Trump has signaled not only that he wished to fight Republicans he considered were not loyal to him, but he also reinforced his claims that the 2020 elections were stolen from him.
Trump threatened lawmakers that many of his party's officials will sit out future elections until the "voter fraud" was fixed. In a statement last week, Trump said that Republicans would not be voting in 2022 and 2024 unless the "Presidential Election Fraud of 2020" was not solved.
Many Republican lawmakers have found Trump's continued attacks on the 2020 elections frustrating. They also argued that the former president's actions were dividing colleagues at a time when GOP members are trying to reclaim the House and Senate.
However, there are still Republicans who support Trump, such as New York Rep. Elise Stefanik who called the former president "an asset to Republicans on the ballot." Many top party strategists also revealed that they expected Trump to remain front and center in the Republicans' campaign to retake the House. A consultant to Republicans on congressional races, Corry Bliss, said that Trump was the "leader of the party," the New York Times reported.
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