Rep. Fred Upton, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021, said the former president will be “hard to stop” in the 2024 election.
The Michigan Republican, who opted to retire from Congress rather than run for reelection in November, said he believes Mr. Trump will run in 2024 and should receive plenty of support from the party faithful despite the Jan. 6 select committee hearings.
“The voters still like him a lot, we’ve seen that certainly in Michigan,” Mr. Upton told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He’s had a number of decisive wins where he’s endorsed candidates that they’ve won. He’s had a few losses as well, but he certainly entertains a majority of the Republican base, and will be hard to stop.”
“He certainly entertains a majority of the Republican base and will be hard to stop.”
— CNN (@CNN) June 19, 2022
Retiring @RepFredUpton, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump, reflects on the state of his party. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ns42UcEFHz
President Biden hasn’t helped himself with his handling of the economy, he said.
“Frankly, as we look at the economy, we look at gas prices, all these different things, folks are not really happy with the Biden administration, which is why he is mired at a level even below where Donald Trump was at this point in his tenure,” said Mr. Upton.
He said he believes the Jan. 6 select committee hearings have had an impact, but he doubts Trump voters will be dissuaded by the damning picture being presented of Mr. Trump’s actions before and during the U.S. Capitol riot.
Why not? “It was a close election,” Mr. Upton said. “It was a close election in 2016, it was certainly a close election in 2020 as well, and you’ve got the base voters that are really upset that things didn’t go their way, and they’re loyal as can be.”
The next select committee hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Mr. Upton said he wished those testifying at the hearing had been more outspoken immediately after the rioting.
“The regrets I see is that some of the folks that they’ve talked to who are now, their answers are being made public: Where have they been for the last year and a half?” asked Mr. Upton. “Why weren’t they saying what they’re saying now a year and half ago, particularly to those who witnessed what was actually going on, to back us up a little bit?”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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