'MORON': Trump Aides Openly Diss Kevin McCarthy After He Doubted Ex-Prez's Ability to Win in 2024 — as War Breaks Out in GOP
June 28 2023, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Kevin McCarthy has been one of Donald Trump’s most unwavering supporters.
But when the Republican House speaker questioned if the ex-president was the best GOP nominee for 2024 in a television interview on Tuesday afternoon, Trump and his top aides reportedly melted down - with some even going so far as to brandish the California congressman a “moron," RadarOnline.com has learned.
A new report from inside the Beltway detailed the all-out war that broke out in Republican ranks after McCarthy flubbed the party line when asked if he thought Trump could win an election despite all the former president's mounting legal troubles.
“Can he win that election? Yeah, he can win that election,” said McCarthy, referring to a Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump matchup. “The question is: ‘Is he the strongest to win the election?’ I don’t know that answer.”
“Unsurprisingly, Trump world flipped out,” Politico reported on Wednesday morning.
“Top aides to the former president and “allies who know both men quickly traded messages asking, in short: What the f---? Some called McCarthy a ‘moron.’”
While McCarthy walked the comments back and even called Trump to apologize, according to the New York Times, the incident exposed bitter in-fighting in the GOP and laid bare the power and control Trump still wields inside the party.
“None of these moves have assuaged the fury in Trump’s inner circle,” Politico reported. “McCarthy, they feel, has taken advantage of the former president when it benefits him and failed to show unflinching loyalty in return. They don’t understand how he could ‘misspeak’ — as McCarthy, we’re told, put it to Trump — on something so critical.”
McCarthy has consistently defended the former president even as Trump faces criminal charges, and the House Speaker even supported recent resolutions to expunge Trump's two impeachments in the House.
But tellingly, the California lawmaker has yet to endorse Trump for 2024 and the rumor mill in Washington D.C. is in overdrive.
“While it’s unclear if Trump has explicitly asked McCarthy for his support, his silence on the matter has baffled the former president and his close allies,” Politico added.
“McCarthy has told some Trump backers that he’s holding off because an endorsement ‘might hurt’ Trump by tying him to the party establishment, according to one GOP campaign consultant who asked not to be named. He’s also suggested that as the highest-ranking Republican in office, just two heartbeats away from the presidency, perhaps he should stay neutral.
“But Trump’s allies aren’t buying that. The former president, the thinking goes, will never allow McCarthy to stay on the sidelines in a nasty GOP primary and expects his full support, something many of them think he’ll get eventually — and perhaps, now, sooner rather than later.”
“At what point is it okay for Kevin McCarthy not to endorse Trump?” a GOP source asked.
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“Donald Trump has been very good to Kevin McCarthy," the source added.
“If Donald Trump wanted," said another GOP insider, "he could have him out as speaker by the end of the week.”
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