GOP Lawmaker Says Trump Should Drop Out of the Race Now—But Will Vote for Him If He Doesn’t

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Donald Trump is currently facing 91 felony charges across four separate indictments (all of which he’s pleaded not guilty to or will shortly). And while there are many Republicans who think the cases against him are bogus and that he’ll ultimately emerge victorious, a select few believe they actually have merit. Take Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy. Over the weekend, he declared that the federal documents case against the ex-president is so strong—and that Trump is so likely to be convicted—that he should drop out of the race now before he loses to Joe Biden. But hey, if the former guy decides he’d rather stick things out? Cassidy will proudly cast his ballot for someone who may be a convicted criminal by Election Day.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Cassidy called the classified-documents case against Trump “almost a slam dunk,” arguing that the 45th POTUS should call it quits with regard to his second-term ambitions. “I mean, you’re just asking me my opinion. But he will lose to Joe Biden, if you look at the current polls,” told CNN’s Kasie Hunt. “If it’s proven, we may have a candidate for president who’s been convicted of a crime,” Cassidy said, adding: Joe Biden “needs to be replaced, but I don’t think Americans would vote for someone who’s been convicted.” Referring to the other contenders for the GOP nomination, Cassidy told Hunt: “I think any Republican on that stage in Milwaukee will do a better job than Joe Biden. And so I want one of them to win. If former President Trump ends up getting the nomination, but cannot win a general, that means we will have four more years of policies which have led to very high inflation…and to many other things which I think have been deleterious to our country’s future.”

Then, because it’s the goal of the modern Republican Party to make people feel like they’re taking crazy pills, Cassidy—one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump after his second impeachment—implied he’d nevertheless cast a ballot for Trump should he become the nominee. Even if he is, in fact, convicted of one or more crimes. “I’m going to vote for a Republican,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy, of course, is not alone in his ability to, in one breath, condemn Trump and say that of course he’d vote for him in the general. Former attorney general Bill Barr—who regularly insists Trump is “unfit” for office and that he clearly committed crimes—has said that he would still vote for the guy. Meanwhile, former vice president Mike Pence—on whom Trump sicced a bloodthirsty mob during the Capitol riot—remains unable to say the words, “I won’t vote for Trump.”

Speaking of Pence, he suggested over the weekend that people should take it easy on his ex-boss. Per HuffPost:

Former Vice President Mike Pence dodged when asked if he would apply the “same standard” to Donald Trump that he used when he voted to expel a Democrat from Congress two decades ago.  Pence, who is now running for the Republican presidential nomination against his former boss, was responding to a question from cohost Jonathan Karl on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. Karl reminded Pence about his vote to expel then-Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) from Congress in 2002 when he was a member of the House, after Traficant had been convicted on 10 felony counts of bribery, tax evasion and racketeering. If Trump were convicted on any of the 91 criminal charges he currently faces across four cases, Karl asked, “Would you hold that same standard for the White House?”

Pence responded by saying that it’s Congress’s job “to determine membership where there’s ethical violations.” But at the end of the day? “If you’re saying would I, would I apply that to my former running mate in this race, look, I think that needs to be left to the American people.”