Current：Home > ScamsMcCarthy says "I don't know" if Trump is "strongest" GOP candidate in 2024 -RiskWatch
McCarthy says "I don't know" if Trump is "strongest" GOP candidate in 2024
View
Date：2025-04-13 20:26:39
Washington — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday said he doesn't know if former President Donald Trump is the "strongest" Republican candidate for president, a rare crack in McCarthy's robust support for the GOP front-runner.
McCarthy made the remark during an interview on CNBC Tuesday morning, in response to questions about Trump's legal battles and electability.
"Can he win that election? Yeah, he can," McCarthy said. "The question is, is he the strongest to win? I don't know that answer. But can somebody, anybody beat Biden? Yeah, anybody can beat Biden. Can Biden beat other people? Yeah, Biden can beat them. It's on any given day."
McCarthy said the the indictments against the former president make the situation "complicated" but could also help him politically.
Some other Republicans have publicly questioned whether Trump is the candidate best positioned for 2024, but McCarthy has consistently defended the former president. Last week, he said he supported resolutions to "expunge" Trump's two impeachments in the House.
The two were at odds after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, with McCarthy saying in a speech on the House floor that Trump "bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters." They reconciled weeks later, when McCarthy visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and posed for pictures.
McCarthy's assessment that any Republican candidate could beat President Biden is not one that is shared by most Republican primary voters, who still see Trump as the party's best shot to reclaim the White House. A CBS News poll earlier this month found that 62% of GOP primary voters said Trump could "definitely" beat Mr. Biden. Fifty percent said the same for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump's nearest rival in the polls. No other candidate elicited more than 20% who said they could definitely beat the president.
Kathryn WatsonKathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
veryGood！ (9)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Dinosaur head found in U.K., and experts say it's one of the most complete pliosaur skulls ever unearthed
- Taylor Swift donates $1 million to help communities ravaged by Tennessee tornadoes
- These 4 couponing apps could help keep consumers' wallets padded this holiday shopping season
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Bernie Sanders: Israel is losing the war in public opinion
- Georgia election worker says she feared for her life over fraud lies in Giuliani defamation case
- Kenya marks 60 years of independence, and the president defends painful economic measures
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- The Dutch counterterror agency has raised the national threat alert to the second-highest level
Ranking
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs' e-commerce brand dropped by companies after sexual abuse claims
- Emma Stone Makes Rare Comment About Dave McCary Wedding While Detailing Black Eye Injury
- Fed rate hikes are over, economists say. Here's what experts say you should do with your money.
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- UAW accuses Honda, Hyundai and VW of union-busting
- Thousands gather to honor Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe on anniversary of 1531 apparition
- In Michigan, anger over Biden's Israel-Hamas war stance could cost him votes: We're gonna be silent in November 2024
Recommendation
Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
Amanda Bynes Shares Why She Underwent Eyelid Surgery
Turkey suspends all league games after club president punches referee at a top-flight match
'I'm not OK': Over 140 people displaced after building partially collapses in the Bronx
2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
China’s homegrown C919 aircraft arrives in Hong Kong in maiden flight outside the mainland
Why Anne Hathaway Says It’s “Lucky” Her Barbie Movie Didn’t Get Made
UK leader Sunak is racing to persuade lawmakers to back his Rwanda migration bill in a key vote