WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A prominent US Senate Republican on Sunday said former President Donald Trump should withdraw from the 2024 Republican White House race, arguing that Trump cannot win a general election contest against Democratic President Joe Biden.
Senator Bill Cassidy, one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial in 2021, described a federal documents case against Trump as “almost a slam dunk” and warned voters wouldn’t pick someone who has been convicted for a crime as president.
When asked if Trump should drop out of the presidential race, the Louisiana Republican told CNN’s “State of the Union” program: “I think so. But of course that’s up to him. I mean, you’re just asking me but in my opinion. But he will lose to Joe Biden, if you look at the current polls.”
Cassidy, a Republican known for bipartisan dealings, played a leading role in crafting a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2021.
Trump is the leading Republican presidential nominee despite mounting legal woes, including four criminal charges, one of which relates to his handling of US classified documents after he left the White House in 2021.
“Maybe we have a presidential candidate who has been convicted of a crime. I think Joe Biden should be replaced, but I don’t think Americans will vote for someone who has been convicted. this is playing out,” Cassidy said.
In the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll released this month, Trump had 47% of the Republican vote nationally, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis falling six percentage points from July to just 13%. None of the other candidates scheduled to attend the first-party primary debate on Wednesday have more than one mark.
Trump is expected to skip the debate and instead sit down for an online interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Mary Milliken and Mark Porter)
