Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on Sunday avoided saying if former President Donald Trump is fit to serve as president again if he decides to run in the 2024 presidential election.
Cassidy appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and was asked by host Dana Bash if the Republican Party could move forward in the direction he wanted to see it go if Trump remains “very much in the spotlight.” (RELATED: ‘The Civil War Is Over’: NBC Analyst Claims ‘Mainstream Conservatism’ Is Being ‘Killed By Donald Trump’)
“Political organizations and campaigns are about winning. Over the last four years, we lost the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency. That has not happened in a single four years under a president since Herbert Hoover. Now, if we plan to win in 2022 and 2024, we have to listen to the voters,” Cassidy answered.
“Are you saying that the party should try to sideline or ignore the former president in order to achieve what you just described? Is he at fault for losing — obviously he’s at fault for losing the White House, but Congress too?” Bash asked.
Cassidy responded by explaining that if Republicans are going to win in 2022 and 2024 then they have to speak to voters who didn’t vote for them last time. He noted that Republicans “had economic policies that were working” and if they could speak to those policies and not “idolize one person,” then they would win.
Bash then asked if Cassidy thought Trump was fit to be president again.
“I don’t think he’ll be our nominee for the reasons I’ve said,” Cassidy answered. “We need a candidate who cannot only win himself or herself, but we also have to have someone who lifts all boats. And that’s clearly not happened over the last four years, so that’s a theoretical that I don’t think will come to pass.”
Bash pressed Cassidy and asked again if he thought Trump was fit to be president.
“You’re asking me a question for four years from now, which, again, I don’t mean to duck, but you could ask a lot of people if they’re fit. The point is I don’t think he’s going to be our nominee for the reasons I just described,” he said.
Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his Senate impeachment trial. Trump has left the door open to running in 2024 but has not yet declared his candidacy.