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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has often griped about the state of the 2024 presidential election that is shaping up to be a rematch of 2020, but on Thursday he predicted that former President Donald Trump will retake the White House this year thanks to the ongoing chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.
More than 300,000 migrant encounters were reported along the southwest border in December, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the highest monthly total since March 2020.
The governor blamed President Joe Biden for not taking a tougher stance to stem the flow of migrants and called out Congress for not taking action to reform asylum laws, but he said the issue has the chance to tank the incumbent president's reelection hopes.
"If we don't see a change from the president ... and his administration — I think he's making a huge mistake; it's going to cost him the election, just to be very clear," Cox said. "He will lose because of this, and because of age — but they're both old."
Although Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, both still face primary challengers from within their own party, both hold commanding leads and are the likely nominees for the general election. If they both go on to win their primaries, they would become the oldest major party candidates ever to run for president, breaking the record they set only four years ago.
Cox said both parties "are making a huge mistake" and said the United States should not have a president in their 80s. But, he said, the issue of the border is a unique impediment to Biden's reelection hopes, which is why he expects Republicans to flip the White House.
"I do think that President Trump is going to win the general election, and I will work very closely with him — I look forward to working closely with him," Cox said.
The governor has previously declined to endorse, but has said he would like to see a fellow governor win the GOP nomination. At the time, there were six current or former governors in the race.
Although that field has been whittled down to only just former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — who was endorsed by Utah first lady Abby Cox last month — Cox again declined to stick his neck out for either candidate, especially given Haley's low polling relative to Trump.
"I've said I support governors and I would love to see a governor win," Cox said. "So yeah, I would love to see Haley nominated and win, but I think it's pretty clear that that's not going to happen."
"I'm a Republican, and I respect my party and I respect my party's voters, although I think it's a huge mistake," Cox said of renominating Trump. "I think if we were to nominate Haley or literally anyone else, we would win by 10 to 14 points."
He said he hasn't voted for a major party nominee since now-Sen. Mitt Romney led the GOP ticket, but said he understands the appeal Trump has for base voters — even if he disagrees with the former president's tone and style.
"I don't hate people that support Donald Trump. I know why they do that," he said, pointing to rising costs of living and increasing mental health issues. "I've seen people who believe the government is failing them, and they're looking for someone who will fight for them and that's why they support Donald Trump."
You can watch the news conference below:
