Pro-Trump Matt Gaetz Unloads on Former President Like Never Before: 'Sad!'
One of the most pro-Donald Trump members of Congress is changing his tune about the former President’s support of Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House.
Rep. Matt Gaetz called Trump’s backing of McCarthy “the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made” in a Tuesday tweet.
“Sad!” the Florida Man said of the endorsement.
Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 4, 2023
Gaetz isn’t the kind of Republican congressman who is known as a Trump critic. In fact, he’s proudly the polar opposite.
Trump reiterated his support for McCarthy after suggesting he’d cooled on the Republican caucus leader on Tuesday.
The former president’s backing hasn’t landed McCarthy the speaker’s gavel so far. The California Republican didn’t secure the necessary 218 votes in after three votes on Wednesday — making for a total of six speaker votes without a winner.
It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for Trump that he can’t get his preferred candidate for speaker over the finish line after six different votes.
Either way, the wrangling over the speaker’s gavel has become an embarrassment.
What was the point of the Republican majority, anyway? Securing border security, oversight of the Biden administration, and rolling back inflation?
Or providing a platform for career politicians to jockey with one another for their next promotion?
One can make the argument that Gaetz and other anti-McCarthy Republicans are obstructing the will of the GOP conference, but the bottom line is that there’s no reason to think McCarthy has the votes.
Gaetz’s opposition to McCarthy didn’t come out of thin air; he’s been vocal about it for years.
McCarthy has had months to secure the necessary support within his own conference for the gavel.
He hasn’t delivered. That’s on him. It often seems as if congressional Republicans will brainstorm one million excuses for failure using the time they could’ve used to advance their purported agenda.
The next plausible candidates for the gavel aren’t “ultra-MAGA” Republicans in the vein of Gaetz.
Some Republicans have pointed to Rep. Steve Scalise as next in line for the position.
Either Republicans unite around an acceptable speaker who can secure 218 votes, or the party proves itself worthy of the “losers” label that Trump himself uses for his political foes.
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