Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted House Majority Leader Tom Emmer as a “globalist RINO,” warning that electing him speaker of the House “would be a tragic mistake.”
Emmer won the Republican nomination to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday. Emmer is the third nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
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But even as he secured the majority of votes in the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, slammed his nomination, and urged Republicans not to vote for him on the House floor.
Rep. Tom Emmer, left, and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday.
Trump endorsed Jordan, R-Ohio, to serve as speaker of the House earlier this month.
“RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump said. “He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Former President Donald Trump, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, speaks to supporters at a campaign event in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on Oct. 9, 2023. (Reuters )
A “RINO” stands for “Republican In Name Only.”
Trump said Emmer “fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me.”
“He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters,” Trump said. “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?”
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Trump warned that 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!” Trump posted.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, address an Election Night party at The Westin Washington hotel in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Trump’s comments come as Emmer’s team has been seeking to portray the majority whip as in-line with Trump. Reports say Emmer keeps an autographed photo of himself with the former president in his office.
Emmer reportedly spoke to Trump over the phone this weekend, as he announced his bid for speaker, but so did several of his opponents.
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Emmer had led voting Tuesday morning amid multiple votes within the House GOP conference on secret ballots to determine who would be their nominee to pick up the gavel. On the fifth vote, Emmer secured a majority and became the nominee.
Emmer is only able to afford four defections from fellow Republicans when the vote eventually goes to the House floor.
Emmer is the third nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.
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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition.
House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed.
This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.