Former President Donald Trump’s allies have been privately lobbying hard-right House members to throw their support behind his bid for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination and help inject some fresh momentum into his fledgling campaign, according to Republican sources.
But Trump has his work cut out for him.
In interviews with roughly two dozen members of the so-called MAGA wing, encompassing some Republicans who were among his staunchest allies during his four years in office, many told CNN they were not yet ready to commit to Trump. Some were keeping their options open as the field develops and others were privately worried that Trump would implode and hand President Joe Biden another four years in office.
And several seem more open to embracing one of Trump’s potential opponents, whether it’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence or even former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who won the support of one hard-right House Freedom Caucus member as she announced her bid for the nomination earlier this month.
“There’s a lot of good candidates and I want to take a look at” them, said Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican and House Freedom Caucus member who broke with Trump over certifying the 2020 election.
One overriding concern: Whether Trump could actually win in 2024 given that the GOP lost control of the House in 2018 during his tenure, then he lost in 2020 and witnessed the 2022 failure of Republicans to recapture the Senate majority after several Trump-backed candidates collapsed in the general election.
“Yeah, that’s a concern,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, a conservative Tennessee Republican who is neutral in the race when asked about Trump’s performance in the last three cycles. “A lot of times, our leaders, maybe their morals aren’t where we need them to be, but…
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