House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to navigate a delicate political situation by vowing his support for Trump while refraining from endorsing his 2024 presidential bid outright.
McCarthy has been noticeably reluctant to officially endorse Trump’s candidacy and has recently raised doubts about whether Trump is the most formidable choice to represent the Republican Party.
According to The Daily Caller’s report, McCarthy acknowledged that Trump could win a general election against President Joe Biden but expressed uncertainty about his status as the “strongest” candidate.
These comments and McCarthy’s hesitation to provide a full endorsement reportedly angered the Trump camp, leading McCarthy to issue relatively mild statements of support.
Now, Trump’s team is demanding both a retraction of the previous remarks and a formal endorsement from McCarthy.
“He needs to endorse me — today!” Trump demanded, sources familiar with the situation told Politico.
According to Politico’s report on Thursday, McCarthy attempted to appease Trump by making a secret promise to ensure the expungement of Trump’s two impeachments from the record.
However, The Daily Caller countered this claim, stating that when news of the agreement became public, McCarthy backtracked, stating that he had merely discussed the idea of holding a vote on expunging the impeachments with fellow party members.
Several moderate Republicans have voiced apprehensions about the potential adverse consequences of pursuing the expungement of Trump’s impeachment record. Some Representatives are reportedly worried that this action could have a negative impact on their political futures, while others fear that a vote on the matter might fail, further dividing the party.
Politico reported a “senior congress member” said: “I’m for Trump, [but] the problem is: If you have an expungement, and it goes to the floor and fails — which it probably will — then the media will treat it like it’s a third impeachment, and it will show disunity among Republican ranks. It’s a huge strategic risk.”
Sahil Kapur, Senior National Political Reporter at NBC News, characterized McCarthy’s actions as a feeble attempt at “damage control.” Although Kapur acknowledged Trump’s strength as a candidate, he made no mention of any commitment from McCarthy to expunge the former President’s impeachments.
DAMAGE CONTROL? Hours after telling CNBC “I don’t know” if Trump is the strongest GOP candidate to win in 2024, Speaker McCarthy now tells Breitbart that Trump is “stronger today than he was in 2016” and declares him “Biden’s strongest political opponent.” https://t.co/Zgpv66NwGg
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) June 27, 2023
McCarthy told NBC: “I’ve been very clear, from long before when I voted against the impeachments, that they did it for purely political purposes. I support expungement, but there’s no deal out there.”
Emily Brooks, a reporter for The Hill, re-posted McCarthy’s June 27 pro-Trump post.
& here is a text blast from McCarthy campaign https://t.co/yw7eDVEGFx pic.twitter.com/MRp1kPvkR1
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) June 27, 2023
