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U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana told reporters in Washington, D.C., Thursday that he won’t support fellow Republican Donald Trump in his 2024 run for the GOP presidential nomination.
When asked why, according to several tweets, Young said, “Where do I begin?”
Young named at least one factor in the brief exchange: Trump’s failure to vocalize his support for Ukraine in the yearlong conflict following the Russian invasion.
“I think President Trump’s judgment is wrong in this case. (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and his government have been engaged in war crimes. … That’s why I don’t intend to support him for the Republican nomination,” Young said, according to video tweeted by CNN reporter Manu Raju.
In a CNN Town Hall on Wednesday night, moderator Kaitlan Collins asked Trump about whether Ukraine should win the war. Trump said he didn’t “think in terms of winning or losing.”
“I want everybody to stop dying,” Trump said.
He declined to support Ukraine explicitly and pushed back against calling Putin a “war criminal.”
Young was not asked whether he would support Trump if he wins the nomination.
Young was just reelected in 2022 to a six-year term. He has broken with Trump on several key issues, including the president’s desire for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election results.
Politico noted that Young was one of only four Senate GOP incumbents that Trump didn’t endorse for reelection.
Trump appeared on CNN on Wednesday as a candidate for Republican nomination for President in the 2024 election. Other declared candidates for the nomination include: former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Ryan Binkley, Larry Elder, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Perry Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also rumored to be considering a run for the Republican nomination.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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