If Trump pursues the GOP candidacy in 2024, he will be impossible to defeat, says a senior Republican congressman who pushed for impeachment just after the Capitol incident.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) told CNN on Sunday he expects Trump will run and be a successful candidate. Still, the Jan. 6 committee conclusions will reverberate with centrist GOP voters and Independents.
Trump Base As Strong As Ever
“I’ve stated from the start Donald Trump will be a contender in ’24. The voters like him,” Upton said on the State of the Union.
“We see this in Michigan. Several of his recommended candidates have won. He’s suffered a few losses, but he’s popular with the Republican base and is hard to stop.”
“When we look at the economy, energy prices, and other things, people aren’t satisfied with the Biden presidency, which is why Biden is behind where Trump was at this time in his term.”
When asked what it means that Trump is a party spectacle, the congressman answered, “It was a tight vote. It was a tight 2016 election. Even 2020 was a tight election. The base voters are furious things didn’t go in their favor and remain loyal.”
Upton was among ten House Republicans to find Trump guilty in the second impeachment proceedings against the ex-president. The GOP-led Senate acquitted Trump as before.
Upton announced his departure in April as a Trump-backed competitor loomed.
Jan. 6 Proceedings and Trump Opposition
Despite his retirement and the retirement of other Republicans who opposed Trump, Upton predicted the GOP would continue to oppose Trump.
5 of the Republicans, who voted to impeach President Trump, won’t return to Congress:
❌Tom Rice
❌John Katko
❌Fred Upton
❌Adam Kinzinger
❌Anthony Gonzalez— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) June 17, 2022
“Although only ten of us voted to impeach, 35 of us voted for a bipartisan committee to look into this,” Upton said of the aftermath of Jan. 6.
“We know there were many people who were terrified of reelection and voted against it. So our movement is stronger than the stats reflect.”
“Yes, we sent it to the Senate, which voted to impeach Trump. That’s why politics is exciting. It’s a wait-and-see situation.”
Upton said the summer hearings of the Jan. 6 committee would be interesting to moderate Republicans and Independents. He, however, also said the economy and gas prices are the top concerns.
“Where have they been for the last year-and-a-half?”
GOP @RepFredUpton calls out former Trump insiders for speaking candidly to the January 6 Committee about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election but not doing the same in public. #CNNSOTU https://t.co/HhXbtQKkTF
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 19, 2022
“I think there’s significant interest,” Upton said of the Jan. 6 committee and its summer sessions.
“Various factions refuse to watch. They decided long ago. I think it has affected voters throughout the country. So we’ll see how it goes.”
“The committee is cautious not to reveal specifics before hearings. For me, I was there that day.”
“I lament some of the people they’ve talked to, whose replies are now public, where have they been for the previous year and a half? Why didn’t they say what they’re admitting now a year and a half ago to back up those of us who saw it?”
