Former President Donald Trump on Friday publicly backed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker of the House in the subsequent Congress.
The 76-year-old former commander-in-chief also warned that GOP lawmakers opposing the California Republican are playing a “very dangerous game.”
“Yeah, I support McCarthy,” Trump told Breitbart News during an interview from his Doral golf resort in Miami, Florida.
“Look, I believe this: Kevin has worked very hard,” Trump added. “He’s just — it’s been exhausting. If you happen to think, he’s been throughout. I believe he deserves the shot. Hopefully he’s going to be very strong and going to be excellent and he’s going to do what everybody wants.”
Trump sounded the alarm over what he said could be a “doomsday scenario” if Republicans opposing McCarthy’s continued leadership within the House get their way, while noting that he’s “friendly” with lots of the lawmakers against McCarthy getting the speaker’s gavel.
“Now, I’m friendly with lots of those people who find themselves against Kevin. I believe almost every certainly one of them are very much inclined toward Trump, and me toward them. But I actually have to inform them, and I actually have told them, you’re playing a really dangerous game,” Trump said. “You can find yourself with the more severe situation. I don’t even wish to say what it’s, but I could let you know it’s a worse situation. You can find yourself with some very bad situations.”
The previous president then pointed to 2015, when members of the House Freedom Caucus pushed then-Speaker John Boehner out of office, and a fractured Republican Party replaced him with Paul Ryan – who Trump on Friday called, “an incompetent speaker” and a “disaster.”
“You can find yourself with some very bad situations. I take advantage of the Boehner to Paul Ryan example. You understand what I’m saying? It could possibly be a doomsday scenario. It could possibly be. You can find yourself with any individual who could be a disaster like Paul Ryan was,” Trump said.
“Consider it — we ended up with Paul Ryan. Boehner was like Winston Churchill in comparison with Paul Ryan,” Trump added. “Boehner wasn’t perfect — no person’s perfect — but Paul Ryan was a disaster for the Republican Party. That’s what we got.”
Inside his party, McCarthy is being opposed by five holdouts who he said on Friday “haven’t moved” their stances.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), and Bob Good (R-Va.) have formed a coalition against McCathy’s speakership and plan to vote as a unit when McCathy’s nomination involves vote next month in the brand new Congress, in response to Axios.
Republicans will take control of the lower chamber of Congress on Jan. 3 and House McCarthy must secure 218 votes to be elected speaker.
Former President Donald Trump on Friday publicly backed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker of the House in the subsequent Congress.
The 76-year-old former commander-in-chief also warned that GOP lawmakers opposing the California Republican are playing a “very dangerous game.”
“Yeah, I support McCarthy,” Trump told Breitbart News during an interview from his Doral golf resort in Miami, Florida.
“Look, I believe this: Kevin has worked very hard,” Trump added. “He’s just — it’s been exhausting. If you happen to think, he’s been throughout. I believe he deserves the shot. Hopefully he’s going to be very strong and going to be excellent and he’s going to do what everybody wants.”
Trump sounded the alarm over what he said could be a “doomsday scenario” if Republicans opposing McCarthy’s continued leadership within the House get their way, while noting that he’s “friendly” with lots of the lawmakers against McCarthy getting the speaker’s gavel.
“Now, I’m friendly with lots of those people who find themselves against Kevin. I believe almost every certainly one of them are very much inclined toward Trump, and me toward them. But I actually have to inform them, and I actually have told them, you’re playing a really dangerous game,” Trump said. “You can find yourself with the more severe situation. I don’t even wish to say what it’s, but I could let you know it’s a worse situation. You can find yourself with some very bad situations.”
The previous president then pointed to 2015, when members of the House Freedom Caucus pushed then-Speaker John Boehner out of office, and a fractured Republican Party replaced him with Paul Ryan – who Trump on Friday called, “an incompetent speaker” and a “disaster.”
“You can find yourself with some very bad situations. I take advantage of the Boehner to Paul Ryan example. You understand what I’m saying? It could possibly be a doomsday scenario. It could possibly be. You can find yourself with any individual who could be a disaster like Paul Ryan was,” Trump said.
“Consider it — we ended up with Paul Ryan. Boehner was like Winston Churchill in comparison with Paul Ryan,” Trump added. “Boehner wasn’t perfect — no person’s perfect — but Paul Ryan was a disaster for the Republican Party. That’s what we got.”
Inside his party, McCarthy is being opposed by five holdouts who he said on Friday “haven’t moved” their stances.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), and Bob Good (R-Va.) have formed a coalition against McCathy’s speakership and plan to vote as a unit when McCathy’s nomination involves vote next month in the brand new Congress, in response to Axios.
Republicans will take control of the lower chamber of Congress on Jan. 3 and House McCarthy must secure 218 votes to be elected speaker.
