- GOP Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan said he doesn't want a Trump-Biden 2024 rematch.
- "That is a very messed up and frustrating and depressing dynamic," he told CNN on Friday.
- Meijer lost his primary against a Trump-backed challenger earlier this week.
Republican Rep. Peter Meijer on Friday said he does not want former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to face off again in the 2024 election.
"If in 2024 we're back to a Biden-Trump dynamic, it will be a pretty sad commentary on where our country is," the Michigan lawmaker, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, told CNN. "We have young, fresh, rising leaders on both sides of the aisle."
"That is a very messed up and frustrating and depressing dynamic, where we're just settling for the lowest common acceptable denominator rather than advocating for folks that make people passionate, excited and thrilled about what the future may bring," he added.
Meijer, a freshman lawmaker, earlier this week lost his primary to Trump-backed challenger John Gibbs for Michigan's third congressional district. He joins Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina as the second Republican who voted to impeach Trump and then lost a primary.
Rep. David Valadao of California is the only pro-Trump impeachment Republican to survive his primary challenge so far this year. The primary for another prominent Republican who voted to impeach Trump, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, takes place on August 16.
Biden has said he intends to run for reelection in 2024, while Trump has repeatedly hinted at doing so. Several leaders from both parties, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Vice President Kamala Harris, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have also been rumored to launch a presidential bid.
Meijer told CNN he's "absolutely" open to running for public office again in the future but for now is committed to "stay engaged in politics" at the local and national levels.
