House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) enraged Donald Trump this week when he appeared to suggest the former president might not be the strongest candidate to win the general election in 2024 – before swiftly walking it back under a wave of MAGA anger.
The whole affair reiterates how weak and unfit McCarthy is as a political leader, wrote conservative commentator Charlie Sykes for The Bulwark on Thursday.
"'Can he win that election? Yeah, he can win that election,' McCarthy said on CNBC. 'The question is: ‘Is he the strongest to win the election?’ I don’t know that answer,'" wrote Sykes.
"Cue the furies of Mar-a-Lago and the absolutely inevitable, eminently predictable cave by the self-gelded speaker. Reports Politico’s Playbook: 'We’re told top aides to the former president and allies who know both men quickly traded messages asking, in short: What the f--k? Some called McCarthy a ‘moron,’ we’re told.'"
"Brave Sir Kevin responded by executing the by-now-familiar McCarthy Grovel," continued Sykes, noting that he swiftly told a Breitbart reporter, "Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016."
None of this is new — McCarthy previously told his colleagues he wanted Trump to resign in the immediate aftermath of January 6, only to quickly reverse course and vote against impeaching him.
"Unfortunately for McCarthy, Trump’s wrath is reportedly unassuaged, and McCarthy’s attempt to suck-up may actually have backfired," concluded Sykes. "But we’ve seen this movie before, haven’t we?"
