Trump Issues Forceful Statement on New Speaker Nominee Tom Emmer: 'A Tragic Mistake!'
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the nomination of Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota to become House Speaker.
Emmer won enough support on the fifth round of the closed-door House Republican Conference voting to have achieved a majority of the Republicans, according to The Washington Post.
However, he lacked enough votes to get to the magic number of 217, the number of Republicans needed to have a floor majority and elect a speaker.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he hopes Emmer never gets there.
“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump wrote.
“He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me,” Trump wrote, citing Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Trump was referencing a 2019 incident in which Emmer disapproved of “send her back” chants directed against Omar, a native of Somalia, during a Trump rally, according to ABC.
“He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters. I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?” Trump wrote Tuesday.
Everyone who votes for Emmers on the House floor, I’ll actively work to primary them out.
That includes MTG, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, or any of them.
If I wanted a neocon, Big Pharma, George Soros stooge as Speaker, I would’ve voted Democrat.
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) October 24, 2023
“The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are. Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” Trump wrote.
A Post blog about the House GOP quest for a speaker noted that Republican Rep. Mike Garcia said about 25 Republicans refused to back Emmer when a roll call vote was conducted. Five Republicans voted “present,” he said.
“The 20 are being given the opportunity to come to the microphone and explain why they are holding out and hear Emmer’s responses,” Garcia said. “That’s the right process we should have been doing all along.”
🚨 #BREAKING: Rep @realannapaulina has announced that she believes GOP Speaker Designee Tom Emmer does NOT have the votes to be Speaker, and she will NOT support him on the floor
Emmer is going to STRUGGLE to secure the votes based on the opposition at this point.
She will be… pic.twitter.com/ZmhB2xNNxs
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 24, 2023
However, Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana said he is not budging.
“The left-flank of our conference blocked Speaker-designee Jim Jordan then nominated the single most liberal member of leadership,” he wrote in a statement.
“They are holding our conference hostage and pushing Republicans to betray our voters and abandon our promises. … I won’t go along with it,” he wrote, according to The Washington Post.
Chris Christie rips House Republicans:
“These guys and women look like a group of 11th graders trying to pick the junior class president rather than the Speaker of the House.” pic.twitter.com/W6JcqZThvF
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 24, 2023
“It’s a dumpster fire, frankly,” Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan said.
The House has been without a speaker since Oct. 3, when a vote triggered by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
House Republicans first chose Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana to be speaker, but he stepped down without getting to a floor vote because he did not have enough votes to win.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio won the majority of votes in the conference in the next attempt to install a speaker but lost three floor votes.
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