GOP senator says he would ‘take a hard look’ at another Trump run

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said on Sunday that while he previously stated he would support the next Republican presidential nominee, he would take a “hard look” at supporting former President Trump if he ran again in 2024.

ABC “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos asked Rounds, who has shot back at GOP assertions that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, if he could support Trump if he ran for office again.

“I will take a hard look at it,” said Rounds.

“Personally, what I have told people is, is I’m going to support the Republican nominee to be president. I’m not sure that the eventual nominee has even shown up yet,” he said. “There’s still — we’re two years to go, where we’re going to focus on the next election cycle. It’s critical that we take back the House. It’s critical that we take back the United States Senate.”

“I’m going to support the Republican nominee to be president. I’m not sure that the eventual nominee has even shown up yet,” GOP @SenatorRounds tells @GStephanopoulos when asked if he could support former Pres. Trump running again in 2024. https://t.co/PNEiELVSGZ pic.twitter.com/uadNsiH6LO

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 9, 2022

Rounds said that he would leave it to the courts to decide whether Trump can run for office again. Democrats have been quietly exploring ways to prevent Trump from running for president again, including using the 14th Amendment.

“I think this is an issue which the courts can decide. And, most certainly, if there’s evidence there, this is going to be up to the Justice Department to bring it forward and to move with it. But, once again, every single person has protections under that system. The former president has protections under that system as well,” Rounds told Stephanopoulos.

“But this is something that should be decided in the courts. And I don’t think it’s something that we should be legislating on right now,” he added.