Trump 'playing blackmail' with GOP as indictments loom: MSNBC's Lemire

Donald Trump is threatening to "blackmail" the Republican Party unless he is the 2024 presidential nominee, according to one analysis.

The former president delivered a dark and rambling speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire said Trump warned the GOP that he would undermine any candidate who was nominated over him in the upcoming primary campaign.

"This is a lot of same old, same old from Trump on Saturday -- at great length, nearly two hours," Lemire said. "Some people in the back were leaving as he was talking. The one thing that was new, he went through all of the investigations he is currently facing. There are many, that took some time. He, of course, discredited them, but he did make that point. He is going to stay in no matter what. He's also been, not necessarily from the stage, but otherwise, his aides are putting out there, he is not going to necessarily guarantee he'll support whoever the Republican nominee is if it is not him, so he is setting up the groundwork that he is in this for the long haul, no matter where the race goes."

"Almost assuring a fractured party and, therefore, defeat for the Republicans in November of 2024, unless he is the nominee," Lemire added. "He is almost playing a little blackmail here with the GOP, with all the legal peril surrounding him."

RELATED: Trump's rambling CPAC speech leaves CNN analyst stunned: 'This is someone who is not well'

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