This week, the former president expressed his admiration for each of the remaining Republican contenders for speaker of the house, but he also urged the party to select “the leading contender, Mike Johnson, and GET IT FINISHED, FAST!”
Trump praised Republicans for the advancements they made the day before in cutting down their selections for House Speaker. This came just a few weeks after Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was successful in his attempt to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was Speaker.
Eight candidates, including Reps. Gary Palmer (AL), Jack Bergman (MI), Tom Emmer (MN), Byron Donalds (FL), Pete Sessions (TX), Mike Johnson (LA), Kevin Hern (OK), and Austin Scott (GA), had their names in the running at the start of the day on Tuesday. Even though Emmer became the top, he quit when it became clear that he wouldn’t get enough votes to win.
Breitbart News went into detail:
“Emmer won the nomination during Tuesday’s fifth round of casting votes after the person with the fewest votes was removed after each round. In the end, 117 people voted for Emmer and 97 people voted for Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA). A few people voted ‘present’ or for someone else.”
“His 117 votes had been a lesser amount than Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), the earlier nominee, received upon winning his nomination this past week, and just four greater than Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) got while receiving his nomination the week before.”
This week, Trump issued a dire warning to Republicans, saying, “Voting to elect a Globalist RINO such as Tom Emmer would prove to be a tragic mistake.”
Soon after, Johnson was named as the candidate for House Speaker, of which former President Trump was happy about.
What he wrote:
“Congratulations to the Republicans in Congress! It was a big and important day yesterday. We were able to move forward quickly and easily with 5 people who are above criticism and the best in the GOP. The Fake News Media is even thrilled with what happened yesterday and, more significantly, with the Contenders themselves.”
In a message, Trump congratulated “Representatives Charles J. ‘Chuck’ Fleischmann (Tennessee), Byron Donalds (Florida), Mark Green (Tennessee), Roger Williams (Texas), and the clear winner of yesterday’s election, Mike Johnson (Louisiana).”
He said, “I’m not going to endorse anyone in this race simply because I COULD NOT GO AGAINST ANY ONE OF THESE FINE AND INCREDIBLE TALENTED MEN. They have all backed me in spirit and mind from the start of our GREAT 2016 Win. We are going to have an even bigger and more important WIN in 2024!”
Even though he didn’t give his full support, Trump did say, “Go with the leading contender, Mike Johnson, and GET IT FINISHED, FAST!”
At noon, the House gavels in, and the race for Speaker continues.
