Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said that the most important thing for Republicans is that they defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
Sen. Bill Cassidy said Sunday he thinks that former President Donald Trump should exit the 2024 GOP presidential race.
“I think so,” Cassidy (R-La.) told host Kasie Hunt when asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether Trump should withdraw from the presidential race. “But obviously, that’s up to him. I mean, you’re just asking my opinion but he will lose to Joe Biden if you look at the current polls.”
Cassidy told Hunt that the most important thing for Republicans is that they defeat President Joe Biden in 2024 and said he thought the other GOP candidates were better equipped to do that, particularly given Trump’s legal troubles and the possibility that he will be a convicted felon by the time of the 2024 election.
“I think Joe Biden needs to be replaced, but I don’t think Americans would vote for someone who’s been convicted, so I’m just very sorry about how all of this is playing out,” the Louisiana senator said.
But Cassidy did not say he personally found Trump intolerable, stating he would vote for the eventual Republican nominee for president over Biden or any Democrat.
Cassidy said fixing the Social Security system remains a crucial issue for him.
“Unfortunately,” he said. “Social Security is going insolvent in eight to nine years, which means that somebody watching this who is getting Social Security is going to get a 24 percent cut. Both former President Trump, President Biden, are basically, basically saying you get a 24 percent cut because I’m not going to do anything. Now my threshold issue if you want to be a leader of our country is to lead, and right now we need someone who will lead on that issue.”