Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican who has long been a critic of former President Trump, said he would support Trump if he is the GOP nominee for president in 2024.
Hogan, who is mulling a White House bid of his own, has said he does not think Trump will be the party’s nominee in 2024. But in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Hogan reluctantly conceded that he would support whomever the GOP’s choice for president is in 2024.
“Yeah, I just don’t think [Trump will] be the nominee, but I’ll support the nominee,” Hogan said, after being prodded by Hewitt about his evasiveness on the question.
Hogan later walked back the comments on Twitter, saying he would not commit to supporting Trump if he were the nominee. Instead, he said he would support the nominee, who he doesn’t think will be Trump.
“To be clear, my position on Trump hasn’t changed. Trump won’t commit to supporting the Republican nominee, and I won’t commit to supporting him,” Hogan said on Twitter.
A member of Hogan’s team told The Hill earlier that Hogan’s position on Trump, who he has not supported in the past, has not changed and his promise to support the nominee is contingent on him believing it won’t be Trump.
The admission that he would support Trump in 2024 is a shift for the former Maryland governor, who in 2020 wrote in former President Reagan after concluding he couldn’t support either Trump or President Biden.
Hogan also reiterated that he was “seriously considering” a campaign for president, telling Hewitt he would make a decision on it fairly soon.
Hogan served two terms as governor of Maryland as a Republican in a traditionally blue state. He maintained high approval ratings throughout and has been pointed to as a potential presidential candidate for years, even before leaving office.
In 2022, he declined a run for Senate after being courted by GOP leadership.
Also last year, he declined to support the Trump-backed Republican candidate for governor in Maryland. Instead, Hogan refrained from making an endorsement in the race and publicly criticized the nominee, Dan Cox, who was ultimately trounced by now-Gov. Wes Moore (D).
Hogan is not the only potential GOP alternative to Trump in 2024. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the onetime U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who has long been considered a potential White House hopeful, is expected to announce her candidacy in the coming weeks. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as one of the country’s leading conservative voices in recent years and is believed to be planning a 2024 bid as well.
Hogan’s view on the 2024 Republican primary: the more, the merrier.
“I think the more voices, the more people out there, the better,” Hogan said. “Especially some people that have executive experience.”
Updated: 12:35 p.m. ET