FAIR WEATHER PAL: Donald Trump ABANDONS Kevin McCarthy in his hour of need
On Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy’s hopes to be elected Speaker of the House were, if not dashed, at least shelved, when he failed to collect enough votes over the course of three ballots. Worse still (for Kevin, at least), Donald Trump, who endorsed him for the position in December, is now walking back his support.
Trump isn’t, as yet, actively withdrawing his endorsement, although he has done that once before for Mo Brooks’ (R-AL) House campaign.
However, the former president certainly doesn’t seem to be standing behind the tarnished McCarthy now.
This is a point where Trump could— if he chose — weigh in and potentially make a difference for McCarthy, especially since the contingent opposing his Speakership is made of MAGA adherents.
Instead, when McCarthy failed to reach the necessary number of votes three times in a row, and the House adjourned with plans to try again on Wednesday, rather than making a phone call to Matt Gaetz or another member of the MAGA caucus, Trump told a reporter he was waiting to see what happened.
Trump apparently was called throughout the day (that sounds familiar) by Members of Congress seeking his support, and if he gave any, it wasn’t openly.
When asked about whether he stands by his endorsement, Trump seemed willing to let McCarthy flounder on his own. NBC‘s Garrett Haake shared in a tweet:
“Former President Trump declined to say if he’s sticking by his endorsement of Kevin McCarthy for speaker tonight, telling me in a brief phone interview he’s had calls all day asking for support, and ‘We’ll see what happens. We’ll see how it all works out.'”
Haake says he asked Trump specifically whether he would stand behind his endorsement, and Trump wouldn’t give any answer other than “We’ll see” before hanging up.
When I asked directly if he was sticking by McCarthy, who did not clinch the gavel today after three floor votes, Mr. Trump told me "we'll see what happens," and ended our conversation.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 3, 2023
Trump’s endorsement in mid-December was rather mildly-worded itself. According to The New York Post, he said that McCarthy had “worked very hard” and “deserves the shot.”
He said at the time that he was “friendly” with people who oppose McCarthy, but that he had warned them they could do worse:
“But I have to tell them, and I have told them, you’re playing a very dangerous game. You could end up with the worse situation. I don’t even want to say what it is, but I could tell you it’s a worse situation. You could end up with some very bad situations.”
The House reconvenes at noon on Wednesday for the next round.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
