Donald Trump is putting his clout to the test, whether he knows it or not, with an all-caps endorsement of Kevin McCarthy's embattled bid for speaker of the House.
The former president issued the endorsement Wednesday morning, before the newly elected Republican majority meets for a second day to vote on a new speaker, following three failures by McCarthy to reach the required 218-vote threshold, but political observers say this would be an early indicator on Trump's power over the GOP after a lackluster midterm showing.
"Trump on McCarthy-he'll do a good job, maybe even a great one. Not exactly a rousing endorsement, but it will be interesting to see this morning if Trump still has sway over his former allies," said MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance.
"The incentives in a speaker vote are different than typical political incentives, but there will be a lot of tea leaves to read if Trump is unable to move numbers for McCarthy after this full-throated public endorsement," noted Politico's Kyle Cheney.
"We’ll see if it makes a difference. If it does, it’s the latest indication that Trump has a serious grip on the Republican Party," said Victor Shi, a former White House intern and podcaster. "But my guess is that it won’t make a significant difference. Kevin and Donald are both losers."
"At first I was like, weird that Trump would go out on a limb for McCarthy at this moment, and then I was like, oh, of course he'll just blame it on McCarthy anyway," tweeted Washington Post columnist Philip Bump, who added italics.
