My Kevin crawls back to Donald Trump. Quickly.
A reminder of who is, really, in charge.
On CNBC this morning, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seemed to sound a somewhat skeptical note of former President Trump as the best option for Republicans in 2024.
“Can he win that election? Yeah he can,” said McCarthy. “The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don’t know that answer.”
Which, interesting, right?
After all, McCarthy has been one of the most loyal soldiers in the Trump army for years, and bet his speakership on his unflinching support for the former president.
So, might this be a sign of further cracks in the Trump facade, further signs that institutional support within the GOP might be open to other alternatives?
Um, no.
In an interview this afternoon with Breitbart News, the ultra-right news site, McCarthy suggested he had been somehow misquoted this morning — and made sure that everyone knew he is still 100% with Trump.
“As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s [Department of Justice] accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice,” McCarthy told Breitbart. “The only reason Biden is using his weaponized federal government to go after President Trump is because he is Biden’s strongest political opponent, as polling continues to show.”
Uh huh. The media eh?
The story, which reads like a McCarthy press release, goes on to carry a LOT of water for the speaker. This paragraph, in particular, is astounding.
“In other words, what McCarthy is saying is GOP primary voters are going to decide who they want—and ask that very question—and that if they decide on Trump as the polls at this time suggest they will, that Trump can in fact win the election.”
Oh really? So that’s what he was saying? Also, how did Breitbart ascertain that fact?
I mean…come on, man.
It’s probably worth noting here that in the few hours between McCarthy’s initial comments and his apology clarification, Trump’s people made clear they were not happy with McCarthy’s comments.
“This quote from McCarthy is not going down well in Trump world,” tweeted New York Times political reporter Jonathan Swan.
And then there was this from CNN:
“I’ve been fielding calls on this since it happened,” one Trump ally told CNN, referring to McCarthy’s comments. “People are not happy. What was he thinking?”
The whole day is proof — yet again — of two things:
How much power Trump retains within the party
How unrelentingly he yields that power
Reminder: McCarthy is the Speaker of the House. He is a powerful figure in his own right. He is allowed to have views that don’t totally align with the former president.
In theory!
In practice, McCarthy — like so much of the rest of the Republican party — is entirely beholden to Trump, and, more importantly, lives in fear of him.
McCarthy couldn’t last a single day — not one day! — in Trump’s bad graces. He had to seek out a friendly outlet he knows Trump reads to make sure that he got right with the former president before the day was over.
Amazing!
Or actually not.
Remember that on January 13, 2021 — one week after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol — McCarthy went on the House floor and said this of Trump:
“The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump.”
Which, for him, were VERY strong words. And were cast as part of a potential rift between Congressional leaders and Trump over January 6.
A mere 16 days later, McCarthy made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to pay penance to the party leader.
“Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022,” McCarthy said at the time. “A Republican majority will listen to our fellow Americans and solve the challenges facing our nation.”
A photo of the two men standing together was also widely distributed. The message was clear: McCarthy was sorry, and Trump had accepted his apology.
This time around it didn’t take two weeks. It took just a few hours. But the takeaway is the same: Trump is the leader of the Republican party. He will accept no criticism or questioning in that role. The only type of loyalty that is acceptable is total and complete.
“You know, some people say, some people right here in this room have told me, sir, don't worry about loyalty,” Trump told Fox News Bret Baier in an interview last week. “Loyalty doesn't mean anything in politics. I said, to me, it does.”
Trump doesn’t really want loyalty. What he wants — and demands — is fealty, a recognition that he is the big boss and everyone else is working (in one way or another) for him.
That very much includes the Speaker of the House. And today McCarthy proved Trump right: It’s still his party.
Kevin McCarthy can dance around the Truth all he wants. That would not change the fact. Donald Trump cannot win a General Election in 2024 and that's the fact. That's all that matters. Kevin McCarthy is going to lose his House Speakership anyway especially if the Republicans nominate Trump as their Flag bearer in 2024. McCarthy knows this as well
I wish there was a database keeping track of all the times Donald Trump told these anecdotes where everybody calls him “sir.”