Mike Wolanin | The Republic Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, listens to input from local Realtors during a housing roundtable about housing and rental affordability by the Crossroads Association of Realtors at Hotel Indigo in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young, one of just a handful of powerful Republicans to have disavowed former president and current 2024 GOP front runner Donald Trump, said during a visit to Columbus on Tuesday, “I have not received one negative comment from a Hoosier about this.
“… I know it just defies belief and expectation that that would be the case, but … I have not had one person speak critically of my thoughts on the presidential race, and I think that is because at some basic level, people know that I’m right,” Young said.
“Donald Trump is devoid of the sort of behavior in office that people would expect of our president, and for those who are concerned about Republicans winning next November, Hoosiers are highly skeptical that Donald Trump can assemble a coalition of 50% plus one and win.”
Since his election in 2016, Young said, “He has lost the House, the Senate, and the White House for Republicans, setting back the conservative movement. The last person to have accomplished that three-peat was Herbert Hoover. It’s an unremarkable political record, to say the least.”
Young made news last month for publicly breaking from Trump after the former president in a CNN town hall declined to say which side he supports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and refused to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
Asked why he would not support Trump for president in 2024, Young said last month, “Where do I begin?”
Meantime, Young said he had spoken with Pence, Trump’s former vice president, earlier this year, as Pence was considering launching a presidential bid.
“We talked some days before his announcement and I offered my encouragement, and he wasn’t seeking my endorsement, I want to be clear about that, but I think Mike Pence would do and exceptional job representing our country and restoring a measure of dignity to the Oval Office, taking his responsibilities as commander-in-chief seriously and focusing on the brass tacks of economic policy,” Young said.
“I look forward to watching the race play out and supporting whomever on the Republican side might be able to present the most formidable challenge to our former and disgraced president Donald Trump.”
