Donald Trump Harrumphs It Would Be “Very Disloyal” if Cabinet Members Ran for President in 2024


Former President Donald Trump said it would be “very disloyal” if former Vice President Mike Pence or others once in his Cabinet ran for president in the 2024 election. To date, Trump has not formally announced a third bid for re-election, although he often alludes to a decision.

The former president, who is currently facing numerous investigations, spoke to host Brian Kilmeade on his radio show via phone on Friday: “Many of them have said they would never run if I run, so we’ll see if that turns out to be true. I think it would be very disloyal if they did, but that’s OK too.”

“Will the results of this election and the people you endorse influence whether you run or not in 2024?” Kilmeade asked. “Yes and no,” Trump replied, doubling down on false claims that he won the 2020 election. “If we did badly, I’m not sure that that wouldn’t make it even more imperative to run because I’ve done very well. I won the first election. I won the second by a lot. A lot.”

He added the polls have him “leading by 40, 50 points;” a recent New York Times poll showed that 49% of registered Republican voters would support Trump in 2024, compared to the 26% who would support Florida Governor Ron Desantis. According to a Quinnipiac poll released this week, 78% of Republicans want Trump to run for president in the next election.

While most of the media attention has focused on DeSantis as a potential 2024 presidential candidate—and a poll last month showed that DeSantis was favored over Trump among Florida Republicans—a smattering of Republicans in Trump’s Cabinet have also hinted at running: Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

On Wednesday, when asked if he would support Trump if he were to run, Pence replied: “Well, there might be somebody else I’d prefer more.” He also added, “I never spent a lot of time in New Hampshire, but I may someday,” perhaps alluding to a potential presidential run himself.

Pompeo made remarks in September that suggested he was eyeing a 2024 presidential run: “We are trying to figure out if that is the next place for us to serve….If we conclude it is, we’ll go make the case to the American people of why that is. And in the end, the American people, I pray, will make a good decision about who’s going to be their next leader.”

Haley has also floated the idea of running in 2024: “I’ve never lost a race. I’m not going to start now. We’ll see what happens” after the midterms.



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