Newly minted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) praised the “all in” involvement of former President Donald Trump with some thoughts on and gratitude for his lasting influence over the party.
(Video: CNN)
Shortly past 2 a.m. Saturday, after McCarthy had secured the votes to be elected speaker on the 15th ballot, he spoke with the press inside the Capitol offering his thanks to some of those Republicans who helped get him there. In addition to those like Reps. Patrick McHenry (NC) and French Hill (AR) who had backed him on each vote, the speaker offered gratitude for those who negotiated in good faith like Reps. Chip Roy (TX) and Scott Perry (PA).
However, McCarthy emphasized his thanks for Trump as he offered a glimpse at what had been happening behind the scenes throughout the week with the president.
“But I do want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think you should doubt, anybody should doubt, his influence. He was with me from the beginning–somebody wrote the doubt of whether he was there–and he was all in. He would call me and he would call others,” the congressman laid out.
“And he really was–I was just talking to him tonight–helping get those final votes,” McCarthy went on. “And what he’s really saying really for the party and the country, that we have to come together. We have to focus on the economy. We’ve got to focus, make our border secure. We’ve got to do so much work to do, and he was a great influence to make that all happen.”
“So, thank you, President Trump,” the lawmaker concluded on that point.
The president’s own words throughout the process had spoken to his engagement as he capped off Friday night with congratulations for McCarthy on Truth Social. Trump posted just prior to midnight, “The ‘Speaker’ selection process, as crazy as it may seem, has made it all much bigger and more important than if done the more conventional way. Congratulations to Kevin McCarthy and our GREAT Republican Party!”
The support for the California politician had been unwavering since December when Trump endorsed McCarthy for the speakership while disagreements were still being held publicly over who among the GOP should be nominated.
The president leveled, “Look, I think this: Kevin has worked very hard. He is just–it’s been exhausting. If you think, he’s been all over. I think he deserves the shot. Hopefully he’s going to be very strong and going to be very good and he’s going to do what everybody wants.”
He had appeared actively engaged throughout the week as well with remarks on Truth Social like, “Good things will be soon happening for the Republican Party, and 2024 will be a ‘Monster’ (in a good way, of course!),” and, “I actually think that a big Republican VICTORY today, after going through numerous Roll Calls that failed to produce a Speaker of the House, has made the position & process of getting to be Speaker BIGGER & MORE IMPORTANT than if it were done in the more traditional way, muck like me again becoming President after having won big in 2016, gotten many Millions of MORE VOTES in 2020 but ‘supposedly’ not winning (BIG LIE!), & then winning again in 2024. It will be BIGGER than the traditional way!”
The president had also re-upped his support for McCarthy after the first day of voting had proved fruitless, stating in part, “Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB — JUST WATCH!”
Less enthused were the folks over at CNN as one of them could be heard exasperating earlier in the day when McCarthy had stopped for comments between rounds of voting. While the lawmaker had been offering remarks, an unidentified woman’s voice from the network could be heard exclaiming, “Oh for Chr*st’s sake!”
(Video: CNN)
The statement from McCarthy that was too much for her to stand was, “It reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public.”
At the time of this posting, CNN had not responded to multiple outlets seeking comment and clarification on who had been caught on the hot mic.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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