Multiple people claimed Friday that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said former President Donald Trump has his eye on the House Speaker’s gavel, causing confusion.
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade asked McCarthy, who would be at the front of the line to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans regained control of the chamber in 2022, what he thought about rumors that the former president might also express an interest in that position. (RELATED: POLL: 78% Of Capitol Hill Staffers Believe GOP Will Take Back The House In 2022)
WATCH:
Kilmeade said he had heard “talk out there” about the possibility that Trump could run for a House seat or be made House Speaker
“Would you be for President Trump becoming speaker?” he asked.
“You know, I have talked to President Trump many times,” McCarthy replied. “He tells me he wants me speaker, and I think he should be president.”
McCarthy’s response was just garbled enough that some believed he said Trump wanted to be speaker himself.
KILMEADE: “Would you be for President Trump becoming speaker?”
MCCARTHY: “You know, I’ve talked to President Trump many times. He tells me he wants to be speaker. And I think he should be president.”
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) June 19, 2021
This is the first time I’ve heard someone acknowledge the idea that trump wants to become speaker. I’m very surprised McCarthy has acknowledged this publicly. https://t.co/vKOquR8N7X
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 19, 2021
Every Republican House candidate running in 2022 should be asked, on the record, whether he or she would vote for Trump for Speaker. https://t.co/hhpaeq6KJ3
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) June 19, 2021
You don’t have to be a member of Congress to be elected Speaker by the House of Representatives.
Donald Trump owns the Republican Party.
So if Republicans take back the House in 2022 and Donald Trump really wants to be Speaker then he will be Speaker. https://t.co/YEX7NNgv72
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) June 19, 2021
But a spokesperson from McCarthy’s office clarified the statement to the Daily Caller, saying that he had meant Trump wanted McCarthy to be speaker: “McCarthy meant and said he wants ‘me’ to be Speaker, but I understand that might not have sounded crystal clear.”
I’m told in this clip, McCarthy said trump wants MCCARTHY to be speaker. https://t.co/vKOquR8N7X
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 19, 2021
McCarthy followed his answer by saying that winning back the House should be the priority going into 2022, arguing that concerns about whether or not the Senate might do away with the filibuster would be less urgent because the bills Democrats wanted to push through would never make it to the Senate in the first place.
“What are the Democrats doing with this majority? They not only want to change the election law, they want to make Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., states. Why? They are doing everything they can to change the structure and constitutionality of our country so they can maintain control illegally,” McCarthy continued. “That’s something we never want to see happen.”
“All right. Leader McCarthy could be Speaker McCarthy. Might be Speaker Trump. We will have to find out,” Kilmeade concluded the segment.
Former President Trump addressed the possibility in early June during a radio interview with Wayne Allyn Root by saying that others had suggested he run for a senate seat and adding, “you know what, your idea might be better. It’s very interesting.”