Former President Donald Trump reiterated his support for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's speakership run, telling Breitbart that he "deserves" a shot at the role.
Trump also encouraged GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Bob Good of Virginia and Ralph Norman of South Carolina to back down from their stalwart opposition.
"I like him," Trump said of McCarthy. "I think it's a very dangerous game that's being played. ... Some bad things could happen. Look, we had [former House Speaker John] Boehner [R-Ohio], and he was a strange person; but we ended up with [former House Speaker] Paul Ryan [R-Wis.], who was 10 times worse."
The former president didn't hold back on punches when speaking about Ryan, calling him "incompetent" and "the worst speaker in history." He also recalled a crowd booing Ryan off stage during a 2016 Trump rally in Wisconsin.
"Look, I think this: Kevin has worked very hard," Trump said. "He is just — it's been exhausting. If you think, he's been all over. I think he deserves the shot. Hopefully, he's going to be very strong and going to be very good, and he's going to do what everybody wants."
Trump noted that many of those opposing the minority leader are good friends of his, but once again warned that they were "playing a very dangerous game" and "could end up with the worse situation."
"I use the Boehner to Paul Ryan example. You understand what I'm saying? It could be a doomsday scenario. It could be. You could end up with somebody who would be a disaster like Paul Ryan was," he said.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.