OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz hinted this week that he would jump in the 2024 presidential race, but likely only if former President Donald Trump decided not to run.
While speaking with NBC News for a profile that came out about his presidential ambitions, Cruz admitted he’s long aspired to become the president, but made it clear he wouldn’t run against Trump if the former president.
“The race in ’24 will very much hinge on whatever President Trump decides to do,” Cruz said. “President Trump is going to make his decision whether or not he runs, or nobody else is going to make that decision for him. And I expect that everyone else will react accordingly when he does make that decision.”
“I don’t think he would run against Trump,” a person close to Cruz said. “I don’t know that Trump’s going to run. But if Trump doesn’t run, I’m quite certain he will run.”
Last month, Cruz spoke with the Truth Gazette about the 2024 presidential election and whether he may throw his hat in the ring under the right conditions.
“Absolutely, in a heartbeat. I ran in 2016 … very strong field and I ended up placing 2nd,” Cruz said.
“And, you know, there’s a reason historically that the runner-up is almost always the next nominee. And that’s been true going back to Nixon or Reagan or McCain or Romney,” the senator said.
“You come in with just an enormous base of support. In 2016 we raised over $92 million. That was the most money any Republican has ever raised in the history of presidential primaries,” he added.
Cruz was the last person on the Republican side that Donald Trump defeated in the 2016 Republican primary.
WATCH:
EXCLUSIVE: I asked Sen. @TedCruz if he would ever consider another run for President.
His response: “Absolutely, in a heartbeat. I ran in 2016…very strong field and I ended up placing 2nd.”
“…there’s a reason historically that the runner up is almost always the next nominee.” pic.twitter.com/5U3EhkqgXp
— The Truth Gazette (@Truth_Gazette) December 22, 2021
For Joe Biden’s part, polling indicates that he is in serious trouble going into the 2024 election.
Half of those surveyed by Rasmussen Reports think Joe Biden should be impeached from office.
And what’s more, almost as many surveyed think that’s what Republicans will do if the party wins back control of the House in the 2022 midterms.
“A new national telephone and an online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse finds that 50% of Likely U.S. voters support the impeachment of Biden, including 33% who Strongly Support it. Forty-five percent (45%) are opposed to impeaching Biden, including 33% who Strongly Oppose it,” Rasmussen reported.
If Biden were to get impeached, he would face trial in what could be a GOP-controlled Senate after the midterms.
The survey comes amid a dramatic shift in approval ratings for both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over their first year in office.
In early December, for instance, an I&I/TIPP poll found that barely one-third of Democrat respondents want Biden to run for reelection.
The survey asked respondents, “Who do you want to see run for president on the Democratic ticket in 2024?”
37 percent of independents say they are “not sure” who they want to see run on the Democrat ticket, but only eight percent say it should be Biden.
The numbers got worse when it came to Dem-leaning Independents.
“But only 8% of independents and other non-major party voters also want Biden back as Democratic standard-bearer,” TIPP noted.
“And 10% want Harris, not Biden. For Biden, that suggests near non-existent support among independents, the swing voters who make up a third or more of all those who go to the polls each election,” the survey added.
“Even Democrats seem less than enthused about Biden holding the top spot. Just 37% want him there,” the poll revealed.
“And only 16% give Harris the nod as presidential standard-bearer, alarming given that Vice President Harris is next in line to be president should Biden not complete his term in office,” the survey continued.
