Matt Gaetz Leads Charge for Trump 2024, but Some of Ex-President's Voters Are Moving On

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is pushing for Donald Trump to be the GOP's 2024 candidate, although polling has shown some former supporters do not agree.

In a recent Newsmax interview, Trump did not rule out running for the White House again, saying: "I won't say yet, but we have tremendous support."

"After The Art of the Deal comes The Art of the Comeback, and I believe that the future of the GOP is another candidacy for President Trump in 2024," Gaetz said in a Fox News interview.

The congressman added that he had met with Trump recently and the former president was "talking absolutely like a candidate."

Gaetz also hit out at "establishment Republicans," saying he does not see a "party that is entirely united."

The Florida representative has long been a staunch Trump ally and has hit out at fellow Republicans who have criticized the former president.

Gaetz has previously said he wants more GOP leaders with Trump's spirit to "continue to harness the energy of the Trump movement."

Polling of former Trump supporters has found that not all of them back him running for the White House again.

A Suffolk University/USA Today survey was conducted among 1,000 Trump voters, identified from its 2020 polling, on February 15 to 20.

The voters were asked: "Do you want Donald Trump to run for president again in 2024?" More than a quarter, 29 percent, said no.

They were also asked: "If Trump ran for president again in 2024, would you support him for the Republican nomination?" Although three quarters, 76 percent, said yes, 12 percent said no.

Asked whether they would vote for Trump if he did win the Republican nomination, most—85 percent—said yes. Eight percent said they would not.

The survey also asked about the GOP's loyalty to the former president. Half the respondents said the party should "become more loyal to Trump even at the cost of losing more establishment Republicans." By contrast, 19 percent said it should become less loyal to Trump and more aligned with establishment Republicans.

The margin of error in the poll is 3.1 percentage points.

Newsweek has contacted Gaetz's office and the Office of the Former President for comment on a potential 2024 run and on the Suffolk poll.

Trump's odds for seeking a second term were slashed by bookmakers after he was acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial earlier this month. Previous polls have shown him as the frontrunner among potential GOP candidates.

Some Republican lawmakers, however, have said they oppose another Trump candidacy.

The former president is due to make his first major public appearance since leaving office at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on February 28. The event's lineup includes a number of Trump-supporting politicians and pundits.