Trump advisor voices 'extortion' scenario of denying endorsement if he isn’t 2024 nominee: report

Republicans may face a hostage crisis in 2024 if Donald Trump is not the GOP's nominee for the third cycle in a row.

With Trump expected to announce a comeback attempt shortly after the 2022 midterm elections, CBS News chief election and campaigns correspondent Robert Costa began looking forward to 2024.

In a thread posted to Twitter, Costa explained he "spent the day on the phone calling around the GOP, meeting with some longtime sources by Trump Tower."

Costa reported Donald Trump, Jr. is expected to play larger role while Jared Kushner steps back.

He noted Trump's team was keeping an eye on Govs. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

"Trump loves idea of forcing others’ hands, making DeSantis, Youngkin, and others have to reckon, soon, whether they want a messy fight with him where he plays by no rules," Costa reported.

RELATED: Russia-backed group planting racist cartoons on social media to interfere in elections: report

He said one Trump advisor asked him, “Do they really believe he’d endorse anybody at the convention if he loses?”

Former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr has also voiced similar worries, New York Times correspondent Maggie Hamberman noted.

"This is what Barr recently referred to as “extortion” - the idea that Trump will hold the party hostage if anyone challenges him," Haberman reported. "He did it successfully in 2016 too by dangling the threat of an independent candidacy."