Former President Donald Trump offered rare praise for the Democratic Party in an interview that was published on Friday, suggesting that the GOP could learn from its ability to unite.
The former president recently sat for an interview with the right-wing news outlet, Breitbart, in which the forthcoming presidential election was discussed. In it, he was asked why more Democrats and independents aligned with the Democratic Party, like California Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, are not launching 2024 presidential primary challenges against President Joe Biden, as are the likes of Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In response, Trump said that the Democrats have the ability to "sort of unite" better than Republicans do, something he said the party should work on emulating more.
"I'm a little surprised," he said. "The Democrats sort of unite—and the Republicans have to do a little bit more of that. We have the Mitt Romneys of the world and we have some other people that are really not very good, frankly."
He added later: "They have people that do vote when they set their agenda. You see these unanimous votes. They wanted to impeach me. They went to impeach me unanimously even though many of them disagreed with it—totally disagreed with it—and I ended up winning, winning twice. But they stick together. The Republicans have to stick together the same way."
Newsweek reached out to the Republican National Committee (RNC) via email for comment.
Trump is currently running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination as part of his bid to retake the White House. In polls, he has consistently outpaced the rest of the packed field of candidates, consistently receiving at or near 50 percent support. His lead is so considerable, that some observers have likened the GOP primary process next year to a formality.
Trump maintains this lead despite now facing three criminal indictments, some of which could go to trial before next year's general election. The most recent indictment, for which he was arraigned on Thursday, leveled federal charges against him for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden and has falsely claimed was rife with widespread voter fraud. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained his innocence, as he has done in all the legal battles he currently faces.
Biden is also running for reelection in 2024. Those attempting to run against him in the Democratic primary have been given minimal, if not entirely negligible odds for an upset, as no sitting president in United States history has ever been successfully defeated in a primary when they ran for reelection.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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