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Donald Trump is warning some of his fiercest supporters in the House of Representatives that they are playing a “dangerous game” by opposing Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the speaker’s hammer.
The former president is testing his influence in the GOP’s cross-party disputes once again after coming under fire for picking weak Republican primary candidates in the midterms.
He was less communicative about his choice to lead the Republican National Committee, in the midst of a fierce battle to oust its current chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, in favor of someone more aligned with the MAGA faction.
speaking to Breitbart On Friday, the former president said California Republican McCarthy “deserves a chance” to be Speaker of the House after his party narrowly recaptured the House majority in recent midterm elections.
But with only a slim lead, McCarthy cannot afford to lose the votes of five conservative members of his caucus who have signaled they are likely to oppose him.
Those are: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, and Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
Now, I’m friends with a lot of those people who are against Kevin. I think almost all of them are very leaning towards Trump, and I towards them,” Trump said.
“But I have to tell you, and I have told you, you are playing a very dangerous game.”
Donald Trump endorsed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the presidency
McCarthy’s campaign for speaker’s gavel is threatened by five Republican lawmakers
He claimed to have warned those five Republicans that they would be in “a worse situation” without McCarthy as president.
Among the most controversial demands McCarthy’s critics have is the reinstatement of a “motion to vacate the chair,” which would allow Republicans to vote out their current president at any time. Party moderates have raised concerns about its destabilizing effect on the House GOP.
Biggs has announced that he will challenge McCarthy for the job after losing widely in a similar fight within the Republican caucus in November.
McCarthy said Friday that the five Republicans “have not budged” on their position.
He curried favor with Trump despite being openly criticized by some of the former president’s other supporters in Congress. McCarthy was the first high-profile Republican politician to meet with Trump after the January 6 Capitol riots, widely seen as helping to resurrect Trump’s political career.
“Look, I think this: Kevin has worked very hard,” Trump told Brietbart.
If you believe, it’s been everywhere. I think he deserves the chance. Hopefully he will be very strong and very good and do what everyone wants.”
He was less forthcoming about his choice to lead the national party, according to a follow-up excerpt from his interview released Saturday.
Meanwhile, Trump was less forthcoming about whether he would support RNC president Ronna McDaniel or one of her rivals.
McDaniel is responsible for the GOP’s lackluster showing in the midterms by some of his party’s top members, along with criticism of how he spent party money on the races.
Among his most viable rivals for the presidency is the conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon.
Dhillon, a member of the RNC, is a director of the firm representing Trump against the House Jan. 6 committee.
“I think both are good,” Trump said. ‘I like both.’
He compared her neutrality to that of the late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Trump recalled: “It’s like when I asked Queen Elizabeth when we were together, ‘Which president did you like best?’ She said, ‘I liked them all.’ ‘Which did you like best?’ ‘I liked them all. They’re all great.” I said, “But didn’t you like Ronald Reagan better?” She said, “No, I liked them all. I really liked Ronald Reagan, but I liked everyone.”
“Then I realized how smart I was,” he said. “I said, you know that’s why she stayed there for 75 years.”