Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said Tuesday that he will not vote for his party’s presidential nominee.
The establishment politician’s statement that he will not vote for Donald Trump comes days after the former president blocked his party’s nomination. Mr. Young had previously said he would not support Mr. Trump, but Tuesday was the first time he publicly acknowledged that he would not vote for even the party’s standard bearer.
“At some point, principled conservatives need to push our party, the Republican Party, to nominate someone that principled conservatives can actually trust,” Young said. Said Local outlet in Indiana. “In other words, I’m tired of my vote being taken for granted.”
asked again @sen_todd On rejecting Donald Trump in 2024 and whether it’s a lonely position or a trend that’s coming: “I’m tired of my vote being taken for granted. And I think a lot of Hoosiers do.”
Full text of today’s Based in Lafayette Q&A: https://t.co/iVOPp7CGnL pic.twitter.com/YazrefSmY4
— Dave Bangert (@davebangart) March 19, 2024
Mr. Young supports continued funding by American taxpayers for Ukraine’s war against Russia. quoted Trump’s refusal to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal is the main reason for refusing to support him.
Mr. Young is an outlier among Republicans who have been reluctant to fully embrace Mr. Trump. After it became clear that Trump would win the nomination, opponents began to coalesce around him. The floodgates opened on March 6, the day after President Trump’s Super Tuesday blowout, when Trump’s only challenger, Nikki Haley, finally withdrew from the race.
Most notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) endorsed Haley on the day she suspended her campaign. McConnell enjoyed a productive but uncomfortable working relationship with President Trump, but has not spoken to him since January 2020 and rarely mentions his name in public. There wasn’t.
McConnell: “It’s clear that former President Trump has the support he needs among Republican voters to be the nominee for president of the United States.” Said At the time, he praised President Trump’s performance in office. “It’s no surprise that he has my support as a candidate.”
He went on to say, “I look forward to the opportunity to shift from defending the terrible policies the Biden administration has promoted to a sustained attack aimed at making a real difference in improving the lives of Americans.” .
Other senior members of the Senate Republican leadership also support Trump. Sens. John Thune (R-South Carolina) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who have been announced as the next candidates for the leadership of Congress to replace Mr. McConnell, have had public interactions with Mr. Trump in the past. Despite their differences, they similarly support Trump.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News’ Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
