45th President Donald Trump said that his endorsement of Kevin McCarthy in the Californian’s race for re-election did not extend to an endorsement for Speaker of the House.
Earlier this month, Trump posted his endorsement of Representative McCarthy’s re-election bid to Truth Social, describing him as a “strong and fearless Leader of the House Republican Conference,” and praising his “tireless” advocacy for his constituents.
“He is working incredibly hard to Stop Inflation, Deliver Water Solutions, and Hold Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi Accountable for their catastrophic failures and dereliction of duty,” Trump wrote in the endorsement of a man who once reportedly claimed he would demand Trump’s resignation after January 6.
However, in a new interview with conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root, he clarified that his endorsement does not extend to an endorsement of McCarthy’s currently-hypothetical bid to become Speaker of the House should Republicans win enough seats in the midterms to make it possible.
“No I haven’t [endorsed McCarthy],” Trump told Root. “No, no, no. I endorsed him in his race but I haven’t endorsed anybody for Speaker.”
👀 Speaker Jim Jordan 👀
Q – You’ve now endorsed McCarthy for Speaker of the House, why haven’t …
Trump interrupts – “No, I haven’t. No, no, no. I haven’t. No, I endorsed him in his race, but I haven’t endorsed anyone for Speaker.” pic.twitter.com/JzenfXnWsN
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) June 19, 2022
Root asked President Trump if he would consider running for Speaker himself after the midterms, given the fact that there is no constitutional requirement for the Speaker of the House to be an elected member of Congress.
“Only you I believe can carry out the things that would save the middle class between now and 2024 and would save capitalism,” Root said. “We need you, not Kevin McCarthy, leading the indictment, the impeachment of Biden and Kamala Harris. Why not consider it?”
Responding to his question, Trump said that he understood the point, but noted that he and his team “have a lot of great relationships in the House, beyond great,” and said that he would speak to Root about an actual endorsement for Speaker “at a later date.”
With regards to a potential 2024 run, Trump repeated the now-common phrase that people would be “happy” with his decision, but was currently unable to answer.
Valiant News reported last week that Trump was considering launching his 2024 campaign in July in Florida, in order to fend off a potential run from Governor Ron DeSantis.
