Trump shows his support for Kevin McCarthy and urges Republicans to end the internal war

MADRID, 18 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday expressed his support for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's candidacy for Speaker of the House, warning the five opposing Republicans that they are "playing a very dangerous game."

"Look, I believe this: Kevin has worked very hard (...) I think he deserves the opportunity. I hope he is very strong and very good and does what everyone wants," Trump said in an interview with the Breitbart News portal.

The words of the ex-president take place at a time when the Republican Party is immersed in an internal battle in the election of the president of the House of Representatives, all because of the opposition of five congressmen who demand substantial modifications on, among other aspects, the powers and job restrictions.

Those five congressmen Andy Biggs (Arizona), Matt Gaetz (Florida), Bob Good (Florida), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), and Matthew Rosendale (Montana) have threatened to vote as a group to oppose McCarthy on the next 3 from January. Those five are enough to prevent him from reaching the 218 votes that McCarthy needs to preside, because the Republicans have won 222 seats.

Faced with this situation, Trump has warned that the five congressmen are endangering the Republican Party.

"Now, I am friends with many of those people who are against Kevin. I think almost all of them are very inclined towards Trump and I towards them (...) But I have to tell them, and I have told them, they are playing a game very dangerous," he said.

"It could end up in a worse situation. I don't even want to say how, but I could tell (the five congressmen) that it could end up in a worse situation," he added.

If McCarthy does not get the 218 votes he needs, House Republicans will once again hold floor elections until a president emerges, an unprecedented situation since 1923.

"Now, I'm friends with a lot of those people who are against Kevin. I think almost all of them are very biased towards Trump and I am towards them," he said. "But I have to tell you, and I have told you, you are playing a very dangerous game."

The former president pointed to the resignation of former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in 2015 in the face of opposition within the GOP, which resulted in former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) taking over as speaker.

"Boehner wasn't perfect, nobody's perfect, but Paul Ryan was a disaster for the Republican Party," Trump said.

Trump and Ryan frequently clashed as the two overlapped as president and president, and Ryan has become a staunch opponent of the former president since he left Congress.

Ryan said in an interview last month that he thinks Trump would lose if he becomes the Republican nominee in 2024, calling himself "never Trump again."