MSNBC guest Donny Deutsch claimed Friday that former President Donald Trump “will not be a candidate” in the 2024 presidential election because he’s “going to go to jail” for fraud.
In an appearance on “Morning Joe,” Deutsch discussed with host Joe Scarborough the investigations and lawsuits surrounding Trump, his popularity within the Republican Party and how the party has become “radical.”
“With everything that’s going on right now in Cyrus Vance’s office, with everything that’s going on in the New York state attorney’s office, with everything that’s going on with prosecutors’ offices all over America, with everything that’s going on with all the civil lawsuits against Donald Trump all across America, with all the business problems that Donald Trump is having,” Scarborough began, “someone saying they are going to vote for Donald Trump in 2024 has about as much impact as me saying I’m going to fly to Mars on a rocket ship that you build in your backyard.”
Scarborough went on to say that “nobody” thinks Trump is going to run for president in 2024 anymore. He added that everyone knows he’s going to “be buried in lawsuits” and “possible criminal charges” and that things will “look radically different” a year from now. (RELATED: Former President Donald Trump Leaves Door Open For Possible 2024 Presidential Run)
“Yeah. Look, Donald Trump is going to go to jail. I really believe that. If you understand … the things that he has done are absolute tax fraud, absolute bank fraud, absolute insurance fraud. And, Donald Trump will not be a candidate in 2024. Donald Trump will not be a viable alternative,” Deutsch responded. “But you’ve got every one of these Republicans who just somehow believe that this is still the holy grail, and if they move away from him that they won’t get reelected … And they’re not wrong. When you still see that 75% of Republicans think that he should be the man, that 87% think that he had nothing to do with the insurrection.”
Deutsch then said if anyone wanted to know “where the state of the Republican Party is,” they just need to “look at the CPAC speakers this weekend.” He listed some scheduled speakers and compared the list to CPAC speakers from previous years.
“It is the radical Republican Party right now. And it’s the Republican Party of cowards. They are just right now paying homage to this false god, this false idol, Donald Trump, and just protecting their jobs. It’s not more complicated than that,” he added.
Trump is currently under investigation for potential tax fraud by New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance and has sought to block the release of his financial records from prosecutors. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Trump’s request to keep the records private Monday.
Trump is scheduled to speak at CPAC on Sunday, in his first public speaking appearance since leaving office in January. It is expected that he will speak about the future of the Republican Party. He has yet to announce if he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024, but he left the door open to a possible second run for the White House in a Newmax interview Feb. 17.