House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) hasn’t officially endorsed anyone for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, but he’s essentially thrown in with the 45th president.
In a Sunday interview, McCarthy told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he believes Donald Trump will easily win the party’s nom, while suggesting he is the most qualified among the field.
“I think he will be the nominee,” McCarthy said about Trump. “The thing is, President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020, and there’s a reason why. They saw the policies of what he was able to do with America – putting America first, making our economy stronger.”
“We didn’t have inflation. We didn’t have these battles around the world. We didn’t look weak around the world,” he added.
“Well, it looks like Ron DeSantis is now trying to work with your colleagues who are pushing for a shutdown,” Bartiromo countered.
“I don’t think that would work anywhere. A shutdown would only give strength to the Democrats,” McCarthy noted, citing the political disadvantages he sees of an inability to fund the government. “It would give the power to Biden. It wouldn’t pay our troops. It wouldn’t pay our border agents.”
“I actually want to achieve something, and this is where President Trump is so smart — that he was successful in this.” McCarthy continued. “President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls. He is stronger than he has ever been in this process, and, look, I served with Ron DeSantis – he’s not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or form. He would not have gotten elected without President Trump’s endorsement.”
WATCH:
McCarthy essentially throwing in with former President Donald Trump. Nothing wrong with it, either. pic.twitter.com/0gI8C8Vh5d
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) September 18, 2023
Fox News noted further:
While McCarthy’s comments do not amount to an official endorsement of Trump, they are a clear message of friendship to the former president. McCarthy had previously offended the Trump campaign with another television appearance in June.
In that instance, he told CNBC that he was not sure whether Trump was the best candidate to defeat Biden. He soon apologized to Trump and recanted, sending out an email fundraiser declaring Trump to be “the STRONGEST opponent to Biden.”
At a recent campaign rally, Trump said Joe Biden’s ‘Justice’ Department needed to indict him one more time in order for him to not only seal the 2024 GOP nomination but the White House.
He may very well be right.
As reported by Just the News, Trump is now leading Biden in a hypothetical rematch of their 2020 battle by four points, according to a new survey.
In the most recent Premise survey, Trump had 42 percent support from registered voters, which is a four-point edge over Biden’s 38 percent. When he was pitted against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Biden was up slightly — 2 points — beating him 36-34 percent.
“The survey, conducted Aug. 2-7, follows special counsel Jack Smith’s indicting Trump on charges related to his efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results,” Just the News reported.
Meantime, a growing number of Republicans have started expressing concern that there might be a strategy in place for Biden to see Trump get convicted of a felony to ensure that his chief political rival would then be disqualified from the ballot in a number of states. Were that to happen, these Republicans say, it would create chaos within the party over the loss of its nominee — or leading candidate, at least — just weeks ahead of the general election.
Worse, the Republican National Committee is pressing GOP voters to cast ballots early, as Democrats encourage their voters to do. But if that happens, and they cast a ballot for Trump it will essentially be a wasted vote if Trump is disqualified from the ballot in their state.
That said, a recent New York Times/Siena College found Trump and Biden tied at 43 percent, in spite of the former president’s legal troubles.
