Kevin McCarthy Says He 'Doesn't Know' if Donald Trump is The 'Strongest' GOP Candidate, Angers Trump Allies
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent Donald Trump's allies into fits of rage recently. McCarthy raised doubts about the strength of former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign on Tuesday. In an interview with CNBC, McCarthy expressed uncertainty about whether Trump is the "strongest" candidate to challenge President Joe Biden, which suggests potential strains in their longstanding alliance, CNN reported.
USA Today reported that during the interview, McCarthy voiced the belief that Trump has the potential to defeat President Biden in the 2024 presidential election. However, McCarthy also conveyed some uncertainty about whether Trump would be the optimal candidate to secure the White House for the Republican Party. "Can Trump beat Biden? Yeah, he can beat Biden. Is he the strongest to win the election? I don't know that answer," McCarthy said.
The remarks were made by McCarthy after he was questioned about Trump's legal battles and electability. As per CBS News, McCarthy commented that the indictments against the former president present a "complicated" situation, but he also suggested that they could potentially have political advantages for Trump.
The remarks made by the House speaker sparked outrage among supporters of Trump, who is currently leading the pack in the competitive Republican primary race. “I’ve been fielding calls on this since it happened, people are not happy. What was he thinking?” A Trump supporter, speaking to CNN, said in reference to McCarthy's remarks.
During a subsequent interview with Breitbart on the same day, McCarthy asserted that his earlier statement was not intended as criticism or negative assessment of Trump. “As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s DOJ accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice. The only reason Biden is using his weaponized federal government to go after President Trump is because he is Biden’s strongest political opponent, as polling continues to show," said McCarthy.
In the same interview, McCarthy highlighted the results of recent polls conducted by Morning Consult, released on Tuesday, which indicate that for the first time since the question was introduced last year, Trump is leading President Biden, the incumbent Democrat, in the polls. “Just look at the numbers this morning. Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016.”
According to Forbes, McCarthy, and Trump have maintained a close alliance since Trump's tenure in the White House, with Trump even referring to McCarthy as "my Kevin." While McCarthy initially held Trump partially responsible for the January 6 Capitol riots, he quickly sought reconciliation by visiting Trump at Mar-A-Lago, and later opposed Trump's impeachment. Recently, McCarthy expressed support for legislation introduced by Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik aimed at expunging House votes to impeach Trump in 2019 and 2021. McCarthy has also defended Trump against his indictments in Manhattan Criminal Court for an alleged hush-money scheme in April and his federal indictment by the Justice Department related to handling classified documents after leaving office.
