Sunday shows preview: 2024 race heats up a saturated field; Trump indictment fallout continues

The ever-expanding field for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and the ongoing fallout from former President Trump’s indictment will likely dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who will make an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” formally announced his campaign for president on Thursday, becoming the latest Republican to join an already crowded race. 

“I’m going to run for president,” Suarez said in a video posted online. “I’m going to run for your children and mine. Let’s give them the future they deserve. It’s time to take things into our own hands. It’s time to get things started.”

The Republican field has become increasingly jam-packed over the last month. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum all launched their respective campaigns earlier this month, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott both announced their bids for the Republican nomination in late May.

However, Trump remains far and away the leading GOP candidate, even after being indicted for a second time. The former president pleaded not guilty to 37 counts on Tuesday related to his alleged mishandling of classified materials and efforts to block the federal government from recovering them. 

The charges against Trump have led several Republican candidates to discuss the possibility of pardoning the former president if elected. 

Conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is set to join “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, promised to “pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country” shortly after news of the indictment broke. He later urged every White House contender to commit to pardoning the former president.

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and fellow GOP candidate Nikki Haley also said she’s “inclined in favor of a pardon,” while Suarez said he would look at “using the pardon power to heal the country” if elected.

However, Pence, who will join NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, has said that any talk of pardoning Trump is “premature” and questioned why his competitors would “presume the president will be found guilty.”

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson, a staunch Trump critic, said last weekend that it was “simply wrong” for candidates to use a potential pardon “to curry votes” and “get an applause line.” The former Arkansas governor is set to make an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend.

Christie, who will join CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, similarly criticized his fellow GOP candidates for defending Trump in the classified documents case.

“How about blame him?” the former New Jersey governor said during a CNN town hall earlier this week. “He did it.”

“He took documents he wasn’t supposed to take,” Christie added. “He kept them when he asked them back for them? They got a grand jury subpoena. He refused to comply. They raided his home finally because he refused to comply. … All those things were brought on himself, as was this indictment.”

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican presidential candidate; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican presidential candidate

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); former Attorney General Bill Barr; former national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass; former Defense Secretary Mark Esper; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate

“Fox News Sunday” — Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential candidates; retired Army Gen. Jack Keane

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.); Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican presidential candidate; Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.); Brian Costello, technology executive; retired Army Col. Derek Harvey, former senior investigator for House Intelligence Committee