Several GOP senators and representatives voiced support for President Trump to run for office again in 2024, in interviews with Politico on Wednesday.
Senators Lindsey Graham (R., Ga.), Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), Steve Daines (R., Mont.), and Rick Scott (R., Fla.) all backed the idea, as did Representatives Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), and Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.).
Trump has so far refused to concede defeat to Joe Biden in the general election, claiming the Democratic candidate won by means of widespread voter fraud. However, at a White House Christmas party on Tuesday, the president told guests that if his efforts to uncover fraud are unsuccessful, “I’ll see you in four years.” He has also reportedly discussed the possibility of a 2024 run with advisers.
“If he were to run in 2024, I think he would be the nominee. And I would support him doing that,” Hawley told Politico. “I personally suspect that Republican senators would gnash their teeth and wail and hate it.”
Graham, however, said the president would have broad support among Republican voters if he chose to run again. Daines concurred, saying that most Republican congressmen would also back a 2024 run.
“I would encourage him to keep that option open. I would personally support him if he did,” Graham said. “Most Republicans believe he’s done a very good job and that his presidency from a conservative’s point of view has been very consequential.”
The president also appears to be weighing options for how to retain influence in the Republican Party after he leaves office, including potentially founding a digital media company to rival Fox News.
Despite Trump’s election loss, Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.), incoming head of the Republican Study Committee, has indicated that the GOP needs to cater to Trump’s ideas in order to remain viable.
“If we’re going to win the majority in 2022 and win the White House in 2024, our party has to look a lot more like Donald Trump than some of the Republican candidates in the past,” Banks said in a November interview with The Hill.