On Day 3 of his $250 million civil fraud trial in the Manhattan court, former President Donald Trump confirmed that he did not have any hand in Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster as Speaker of the House that took place on Tuesday.
During a 10-minute break when Trump stepped out of the courtroom, he was asked by one of the reporters, “President Trump, did you encourage Rep. Gaetz to move against the Speaker?”
Trump replied, “No, I did not. This trial is a total witch hunt. And I should be entitled to a jury, like everybody else is entitled to a jury. I have no rights to have a jury. It’s ridiculous. Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), said in a tweet Tuesday night that Trump is the only speaker candidate she’s “currently supporting.” “We can make him Speaker and then elect him President!” she wrote.
Rep. Troy E. Nehls, (R-TX), has also said he plans to nominate Trump for the position, following McCarthy’s ouster.
However, Trump previously told reporters that “a lot of people” called him about the speaker position. “All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party,” he said when he was asked whether he would consider taking up the position.
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The former president also added that his focus at the moment was “totally” on his presidential run reiterating that the GOP has “some great people” for the speakership.
“I’ll do whatever it is to help, but my focus, my total focus is being president and, honestly, making America great again, because we are living in a country in decline,” he said.
