Republican Senator Cassidy believes Trump should drop out of presidential race

(Patria) - A prominent Republican in the United States Senate says former President Donald Trump should drop out of the Republican race for the White House in 2024, arguing that Trump cannot win the election against Democrat Joe Biden, Reuters reports.

Senator Bill Cassidy described the federal documents case against Trump as "almost a slam dunk" and said voters will not elect someone convicted of a crime as president. When asked whether Trump should drop out of the presidential race, the Louisiana Republican told CNN's "State of the Union" program: "I think so. But, obviously, that's up to him. I mean, you're just asking for my opinion. But he will lose to Joe Biden, if you look at the current polls," he added.

Trump is the leading Republican presidential candidate despite mounting legal troubles that include four criminal indictments, one of which involves his handling of classified documents in the U.S. after leaving the White House in 2021.

"We may have a presidential candidate who is convicted of a crime. I think Joe Biden should be replaced, but I don't think Americans will vote for someone who is convicted. So I'm just very sorry about how everything is unfolding," Cassidy said.

In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released this month, Trump had 47% of Republican votes nationally, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped six percentage points from July to just 13%. None of the other candidates expected to attend the first party primary debate on Wednesday have double-digit figures.