Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he did not think former President Donald Trump will be the Republican 2024 presidential nominee.
Anchor Chuck Todd asked, “What did you learn from this election?”
Cassidy said, “I learned that the American people want a way forward that actually focuses on ideas. Ideas to make their lives better, not just their lives, but that for future generations. Those who are most closely aligned with the former president underperformed. Those who were talking about the future and who had managed their states well, they over-performed. The American people want ideas. They want a future.”
He added, “Those closely aligned with the past, those are the ones that underperformed. We as a party need to have a debate about ideas. In that debate, we need to explain to the American people exactly where we think our country should go.”
Todd said, “Of course, Donald Trump is sort of the leader out there. If there’s no change there, do you think that’s a problem for Republicans going forward?”
Cassidy said, “First, we are not a cult. We’re not like, OK. There’s one person who leads our party. If we have a sitting president, she or he will be the leader of our party.”
Todd asked, “Do you imagine having to support Donald Trump again if he’s the nominee of your party?”
Cassidy said, “Our party should be about the future. I think our next candidate will look to the future, not to the past. I think our next candidate will win.”
Todd asked, “If that candidate is Donald Trump, do you plan on supporting that candidate?”
Cassidy said, “You’re giving me a theoretical, which actually I don’t think will come to transpire. We have to look to the future.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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