Trump said he could do it but mentioned his big lead for the GOP presidential nomination and how that remains his top priority.
Donald Trump has broken his silence about the currently vacant speaker position in the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy was stripped of his control of the lower chamber less than nine months after he initially took the gavel. Eight Republicans led by Representative Matt Gaetz received support from enough Democrats to successfully vacate McCarthy by a 216-210 vote, resulting in North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry temporarily taking over speaker pro tempore.
The Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy aside from Gaetz were Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Matt Rosendale of Montana.
While some Trump acolytes within the House GOP have openly expressed their willingness for Trump to take the gavel, the former president seems ambivalent based on his presidential prospects and being inundated with myriad legal cases.
“A lot of people have been calling me about speaker,” Trump said on Wednesday from a New York courtroom where he was once again present for his civil fraud trial. “All I can say is we’ll do whatever’s best for the country and for the Republican Party…We have some great, great people.”
When asked if he would actually take the job, Trump said he’s been asked by “a lot of people.”
“We’re leading by like 50 points for president, so my focus is totally on that,” the former president said.
