Tom Cotton says Trump has 'big role' in GOP's future, Joe Biden trying to 'unravel' Trump accomplishments
Cotton wouldn't say whether he plans to run for president in 2024.
Orlando, Florida -- Sen. Tom Cotton on Friday said that former President Donald Trump has a "big role" in the future of the Republican Party and warned that President Biden is trying to "unravel" Trump's accomplishments.
Cotton, in an interview with Fox News, didn't say whether he plans to run for president in 2024, as many have speculated. He said that he instead aims to oppose Biden's actions as president and try to help flip Congress from red to blue in 2022.
"I'll focus on stopping Joe Biden's agenda and winning back the House and the Senate for now," Cotton said.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is seen in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Cotton was one of a number of high profile speakers at CPAC on Friday. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Cotton, in acknowledging that Trump still will play a major part in the GOP, said that one of his biggest contributions so far has been to move the GOP to more of a populist party.
"One thing that President Trump has done over the last five years is kind of reset the view of a lot of Republican politicians and help them understand the views of Republican voters," Cotton said. "For most Americans, certainly most Republicans, it's just common sense that America should come first and that American workers should come first."
He added: "He helped reset the Republican agenda. We now are putting Americans first. We're standing up to China. We are standing up for our trade interests to make sure that we're not just giving away our prosperity. And Joe Biden is trying to unravel all that. President Trump doesn't want it. I don't want it. And no Republican who aspires to leadership in the party should want it either."
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Cotton, when asked about his place in the party, said "my immediate role is trying to stop Joe Biden's open borders, big government, big tax, big-spending agenda."
But, Cotton added, the GOP has a serious opportunity to become more than a minority opposition party during the upcoming midterms.
Former President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, after stepping off Marine One. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
"We're much stronger coming out of the Trump presidency than we were out of either of the Bush presidencies," Cotton said. We've got an evenly divided Senate and we have the biggest minority in the House of Representatives that we've had in 80 years. So we have a lot of leverage to try to stop Joe Biden's agenda. And I think as we stop it and we expose it, it's going to become more and more unpopular... That's going to help us win back the House and the Senate next year."
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Cotton was one of a slate of high-profile Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) speakers on Friday, several of whom are considered potential 2024 presidential contenders. Among them were Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Donald Trump Jr., also spoke on Friday at the conference, which continues through Sunday. Former President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address Sunday.
Fox Nation is a sponsor of CPAC.
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