Trump boasts that he ‘killed’ Tom Emmer’s speaker bid

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Tom Emmer’s public display of gratitude towards Donald Trump for backing his bid for House Speaker did not age well, after the former president boasted online that he had in fact “killed” his chances of winning the coveted position.

The GOPcongressman won his party’s nomination early on Tuesday, but immediately faced steadfast opposition from a number of right-wing members of the House Republican conference. He dropped out of the race four hours later.

It came just over 24 hours after he sycophantically posted online thanking Mr Trump for an apparent endorsement. Mr Trump was asked on Monday if he would endorse Mr Emmer for House Speaker, despite the latter not always having been “his biggest fan”.

“He’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and told me ‘I’m your biggest fan’,” Mr Trump responded, adding: “We’re looking at a lot of people and I’m trying to stay out of that as much as possible.

“I’ve always gotten along with him, I’ve gotten along with all of them. [There’s] a lot of good people.”

In his post on Monday, Mr Emmer wrote: “Thank you, Mr President. If my colleagues elect me Speaker of the House, I look forward to continuing our strong working relationship.”

On Tuesday afternoon, it became clear that Mr Emmer would not be able to earn the required 217 votes to take the Speakership, forcing him to withdraw from the race.

Shortly after, Mr Trump posted a link to an article by Politico, titled “‘I killed him’: How Trump torpedoed Tom Emmer’s speaker bid”.

The article described how, according to Trump Campaign sources, the former president had not liked Mr Emmer’s claims that the two were close political allies. After Mr Emmer had won the nomination he had expressed his aversion to his bid.

“He’s done. It’s over. I killed him,” Mr Trump told an ally on Tuesday afternoon, according to Politico.

Mr Trump had railed against Mr Emmer on Truth Social and said voting for him would be a “tragic mistake”.

He wrote: “I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them. He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

“I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win? The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are. Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”