Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump has catapulted the careers of many a Republican over the past eight years. None have benefited more than Kevin McCarthy.<\/p>\n
In every conceivable way, the House speaker owes his gavel to Trump.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why it came as a shock yesterday when McCarthy on Tuesday dissed Trump<\/a> in a CNBC interview, openly questioning whether Trump would be Republicans\u2019 best presidential nominee in 2024 after carefully avoiding the topic for months.<\/p>\n \u201cCan he win that election? Yeah, he can win that election,\u201d McCarthy said, referring to a Biden-Trump matchup. \u201cThe question is: \u2018Is he the strongest to win the election?\u2019 I don\u2019t know that answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump world flipped out. Top aides to the former president and allies who know both men quickly traded messages asking, in short: What the fuck?<\/p>\n Some called McCarthy a \u201cmoron.\u201d Others looked to Trump campaign hand Brian Jack, who also advises the speaker and has been a critical bridge between both men, to play mediator as Trump hit the trail in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n McCarthy immediately pivoted into clean-up mode. He called Trump to apologize, according to the New York Times<\/a>. He offered Breitbart reporter Matt Boyle an exclusive interview<\/a>, during which he walked the comments back and accused the media of taking them out of context.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump is stronger today than he was in 2016,\u201d McCarthy told Boyle.<\/p>\n None of these moves assuaged the fury in Trump\u2019s inner circle, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. McCarthy, they feel, has taken advantage of the former president when it benefits him and failed to show unflinching loyalty in return. They don\u2019t understand how he could \u201cmisspeak\u201d \u2014 as McCarthy, we\u2019re told, put it to Trump \u2014 on something so critical.<\/p>\n In fact, McCarthy\u2019s damage control made things worse. The speaker\u2019s campaign allies pushed out fundraising emails<\/a> and texts<\/a> claiming, \u201cTrump is the STRONGEST opponent to Biden!\u201d \u2014 then asking for money.<\/p>\n Fundraising off of Trump\u2019s name without permission is a huge no-no for the former president. His team requires explicit approval for any campaign to use his name and likeness. Trump\u2019s team asked McCarthy\u2019s last night to take down the fundraising pitch.<\/p>\n