Current：Home > MarketsMcCarthy says "I don't know" if Trump is "strongest" GOP candidate in 2024 -Elevate Money Guide
McCarthy says "I don't know" if Trump is "strongest" GOP candidate in 2024
View
Date：2025-04-14 06:26:13
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！ (46157)
Related
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- More Than a Decade of Megadrought Brought a Summer of Megafires to Chile
- Activists Make Final Appeal to Biden to Block Arctic Oil Project
- Wildfires in Northern Forests Broke Carbon Emissions Records in 2021
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- California Enters ‘Uncharted Territory’ After Cutting Payments to Rooftop Solar Owners by 75 Percent
- Shakira Steps Out for Slam Dunk Dinner With NBA Star Jimmy Butler
- A US Non-Profit Aims to Reduce Emissions of a Super Climate Pollutant From Chemical Plants in China
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Why Lola Consuelos Is Happy to Be Living Back At Home With Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa After College
Ranking
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- 3 dead in Serbia after a 2nd deadly storm rips through the Balkans this week
- Awash in Toxic Wastewater From Fracking for Natural Gas, Pennsylvania Faces a Disposal Reckoning
- Amid Continuing Drought, Arizona Is Coming up With New Sources of Water—if Cities Can Afford Them
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- America’s Forests Are ‘Present and Vanishing at the Same Time’
- Antarctic Researchers Report an Extraordinary Marine Heatwave That Could Threaten Antarctica’s Ice Shelves
- These 8 habits could add up to 24 years to your life, study finds
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
The Most-Cited Number About the Inflation Reduction Act Is Probably Wrong, and That Could Be a Good Thing
From Gas Wells to Rubber Ducks to Incineration, the Plastics Lifecycle Causes ‘Horrific Harm’ to the Planet and People, Report Shows
Botched's Dr. Terry Dubrow Issues Warning on Weight Loss Surgeries After Lisa Marie Presley Death
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
This Dime-Sized Battery Is a Step Toward an EV With a 1,000-Mile Range
California Enters ‘Uncharted Territory’ After Cutting Payments to Rooftop Solar Owners by 75 Percent
US Emissions of the World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Are 56 Percent Higher Than EPA Estimates, a New Study Shows