Trump Finally Weighs in on Speaker, After Letting McCarthy Twist in the Wind for 24 Hours: ‘VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL’

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

After a chaotic day on Tuesday in which three votes failed to produce a House Speaker, former President Donald Trump is finally weighing in.

In a post to his Truth Social platform, the former president went on record backing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for the position.

“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA,THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE “HOUSE” TWICE!” Trump wrote.

Many wondered where Trump would land on the Speaker standoff, given that he has always had something of a fraught relationship with McCarthy. The California Republican was caught on tape plotting Trump’s ouster after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Trump also fiercely criticized McCarthy for not selecting anyone to sit on the Jan. 6 committee, allowing it to be comprised entirely of the former president’s foes.

Speaking with an NBC reporter yesterday, Trump ominously said, “We’ll see what happens,” when asked if he was still in McCarthy’s corner. But in the end, Trump is indeed standing behind McCarthy — who, as of now, needs to win over 16 House Republicans in order to become Speaker.

“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT,” Trump wrote. “IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!”

He added, in a subsequent post, “TAKE THE VICTORY AND RUN!!!”

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