Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has pledged to support Donald Trump in his 2024 re-election bid and expressed openness to joining his cabinet, while also making good on the former president’s campaign trail promise to demand “retribution” for his supporters.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) was adamant that Trump would be the GOP nominee in an interview that aired Sunday.
“Yes. And if Biden remains the Democratic nominee, I believe Donald Trump will win,” the California native told “CBS Sunday Morning” in response to a question about Trump getting the GOP endorsement.
When asked if that was an endorsement, McCarthy replied that he “would support the president, I would support President Trump.”
Over the summer, McCarthy shocked Trump world by questioning whether the 45th president would be the strongest Republican standard bearer.
He later stepped down and repeatedly spoke to the former president, who had largely remained on the sidelines during the speaker’s uprising in October.
Donald Trump is the runaway frontrunner in the 2024 GOP primary. Getty Images
For months, McCarthy repeatedly stopped short of issuing an official endorsement in the 2024 race, but made sure to praise Trump.
McCarthy announced last week that he would leave Congress by the end of the year. He was ousted as speaker in October after eight Republicans staged an insurrection with a tight bloc of Democrats to oust him.
When asked about accepting a cabinet post, McCarthy kept the door open.
“In the right position. Look, if I’m the best person for the job, yes,” McCarthy replied.
“I worked with President Trump on many policies. We work together to win the majority, but we also have a relationship where we are very honest with each other.”
Kevin McCarthy appeared to support Donald Trump in a CBS interview. AFP via Getty Images
In the same interview, McCarthy also poked fun at Trump’s retaliatory message.
During his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Convention Center in March, Trump vowed to be “revengeful” for his supporters.
Since then, Trump has brought up the “retaliation” line repeatedly on the campaign stump.
“He needs to stop it,” McCarthy told CBS about the messaging about retaliation. “He needs to stop it.”
McCarthy dismissed concerns that Trump wouldn’t listen to him and insisted that the former president has a history where he will “adjust when he gets all the facts.”
The former president helped Kevin McCarthy win the speaker’s gavel in January, but was largely on the sidelines during the October uprising. Getty Images
“America doesn’t want to see the idea of retaliation,” McCarthy said. “If it’s rebuilding, restoring and renewing, then I think you’re going to see it.”
“I will not change who I am. And I will never stop giving him advice. And look, I lost the position of Speaker. Maybe I don’t have the best advice. But I know one thing is, I love this country.”
Late last month, McCarthy appeared to be dangling former South Carolina Governor and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley as a vice presidential pick for Trump.
“If I were to pick a purely political decision — what it looks like today is that the anti-Trump vote will go to Nikki Haley,” McCarthy said at the New York Times’ DealBook 2023 summit.
“But the question is: Who do you elect, will they serve? So that’s another question you should have. And this is about addition.”
Kevin McCarthy is open to serving in Donald Trump’s cabinet if he reclaims the White House in 2024. AP
McCarthy also criticized Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led the crusade to oust him.
“I think history will show who Matt Gaetz really is,” McCarthy said, declining to say whether he would support a primary challenge against him.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
