Prominent U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy stated on Sunday that former President Donald Trump should withdraw from the race for the Republican nomination in next year's presidential election. He added that Trump would not be able to win any general election against Democratic President Joe Biden. Cassidy is one of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in the former president’s second impeachment in 2021. He described the federal case against Trump as "almost a knockout" and warned that voters would not choose a convicted criminal as their president.
In response to a question about whether Trump should withdraw from the presidential race, Cassidy told CNN, "I think so. But it's clearly up to him. I mean, you’re just asking me for my opinion. But looking at the current polls, he would lose to Joe Biden." He further stated, "We could have a candidate for president convicted of a crime. I believe there is a need to replace Joe Biden, but I don’t think Americans will cast their votes for a convicted person."
In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll this month, Trump received 47% of Republican votes nationwide, while support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decreased by six percentage points from July to just 13%. Support for any of the other candidates scheduled to attend the party's first primary debate on Wednesday did not reach ten percent in this poll.
