According to CNN, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reached out to former President Donald Trump on Tuesday to apologize for doubting Trump’s strength as a Republican candidate against Joe Biden. McCarthy’s apology came after he appeared on CNBC earlier in the day and was asked about Trump’s chances of winning the election.
During the interview, McCarthy stated, “Can he win that election? Yeah, he can. The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don’t know that answer.”
The Politico reported that this comment did not sit well with Trump’s supporters within the MAGA movement, who viewed McCarthy’s remarks as a lack of support. Aides and allies close to both McCarthy and Trump reportedly exchanged messages questioning McCarthy’s stance, with some even calling him a “moron.”
To address the situation, McCarthy reportedly placed a call to the former president to apologize for his remarks. According to CNN’s reporter Lauren Fox, McCarthy told Trump that he misspoke and attributed the comments to reporters taking them out of context. However, McCarthy’s efforts to repair the situation didn’t end there.
He held a call, called the former president yesterday to apologize, according to new reporting from our colleagues Melanie Zanona and Kristen Holmes. He told the former president he misspoke, and, of course, he blamed reporters for taking the comments out of context, according to McCarthy, but that isn’t where it ended…He had an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, a right-leaning news agency, to try to talk more about why he believed Donald Trump was the strongest candidate to beat Joe Biden. Later, his campaign sent out a fundraising email saying that Donald Trump was stronger than ever.
This just goes to show you that Kevin Mccarthy knows that his right flank is so important for him to hold on to his speakership. He cannot anger people in his conference who are getting behind the former president, who are fervently behind him at all times, no matter what that means in term of defending Donald Trump, and that is why Kevin McCarthy went out of his way yesterday to go ahead and apologize to the former president, and then in subsequent interviews, make it clear that he does believe Donald Trump could be a strong contender to beat Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
McCarthy also conducted an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, a right-leaning news agency, in an attempt to further explain why he believed Trump was the strongest candidate to defeat Biden. Additionally, McCarthy’s campaign sent out a fundraising email stating that Trump was stronger than ever.
These actions by McCarthy reflect his recognition of the significance of his right flank and the importance of maintaining support within his party to retain his position as House Speaker. McCarthy understands that angering those in his conference who strongly support Trump, regardless of the circumstances, could have consequences. Therefore, he took steps to apologize to the former president and publicly reinforce his belief in Trump’s potential as a strong contender against Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
