House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Republican, Calif.) said Tuesday he wasn’t sure about the former president. donald trump be the “strongest” Republican candidate to face the president Joe Biden In 2024.
“Can he win the election? Yes, he can,” McCarthy said on CNBC’s “Squawkbox.” “The question is, is he the strongest to win the election?”
“I don’t know the answer,” McCarthy said.
“But can anyone beat Biden? Yes, anyone can beat Biden. Can Biden beat anyone else? Yes, Biden can beat them.
McCarthy’s remarks on CNBC were a rare blunder in his normally staunch support of Trump.McCarthy leads a narrow House Republican majority that includes a sizeable number of lawmakers faction Loyal to the former president.
Press secretaries for Trump and McCarthy did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mr.
Trump is clearly the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary. National polls consistently show him leading his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by double digits.
But Trump also lost to Biden in the 2020 election, was twice impeached, spent years spreading false allegations of rampant election fraud, and his recent White House candidacy: swaying for some reason. two criminal charges.
After the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that led to President Trump’s riots second impeachment at McCarthy House first said Trump has some responsibility.But the Republican House Majority Leader met with President Trump soon after, and has consistently since. defender of a former president.
playing cards approved McCarthy took over as chairman in January and urged skeptical Republicans to solidify their support, especially among California lawmakers.
Mr McCarthy said on Friday: Supported A proposal to cancel both impeachments of Mr. Trump.
In an appearance on CNBC Tuesday morning, McCarthy praised President Trump’s policies that go beyond those of the Democratic incumbent.
If Trump is the nominee, “on a policy-by-policy basis, it’s not good for the Republican Party, but it’s good for America,” McCarthy said. “Trump’s policies are better and simpler than Biden’s.”
He acknowledged that Trump’s legal revelations in two criminal cases and several other active investigations “complicates matters.”
in an interview late Tuesday breitbart newsMcCarthy fully praised Trump, saying the former president is “stronger now than he was in 2016.”
McCarthy accused the media of “trying to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans.”
“The only reason Biden is using the weaponized federal government to pursue President Trump is because, as polls continue to show, he is Biden’s most powerful political opponent,” McCarthy told Breitbart. It is,” he said.