Apparently, we didn’t already have enough drama swirling around the Freedom Caucus, the vacating of former Speaker McCarthy’s chair, and the squabbling over who, if anyone, will replace him, at least according to The Daily Beast. We’re also treated to another example of a phenomenon we discussed here recently when people on the left seek to inform us what the “far right” is thinking and the devious plots they are hatching. Brett Bachman informs us that “The far right is already floating Trump as the next Speaker of the House.” If you look at the source URL for the article, you will find that the “far right agrees.” And the final title of the page as published proclaims that Trump being nominated as Speaker “is becoming a real thing.” That’s odd since I’ve been repeatedly accused of being part of “the far right” or “the radical right” or whatever and while it has been mentioned a couple of times on social media and Fox News, I didn’t hear anyone seriously pushing for this. I must have missed a meeting.
Right-wing pundits and lawmakers are already rallying around the idea of former President Donald Trump as the next Speaker of the House following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s shock ouster Tuesday.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and even the far-right cable network Newsmax all floated the idea of Trump taking over the role Tuesday evening, just minutes after McCarthy’s ejection from House leadership.
“Donald Trump should be nominated as a litmus test to all these Republicans,” Jones said emphatically on InfoWars. “With all the fake charges and all the fake trials, how awesome would it be to make Donald Trump Speaker of the House?”
I will grant you that Sean Hannity did bring up the idea and even went so far as to suggest that he’s “been told” that Trump “might be open to helping the Republican Party, at least in the short term.” And Congressman Troy Nehls put up a very unofficial nomination of Trump on Twitter. But are we really taking strategy advice from Alex Jones again?
Look, I would probably enjoy nothing more than watching the heads of Democrats and cable news hosts exploding all across the country if Trump suddenly showed up with the Speaker’s gavel. And in terms of the rules of the House, there’s nothing preventing Donald Trump from being the Speaker since the Constitution doesn’t provide for any requirements as to who can hold the position. They could nominate pretty much anyone they wish.
I’m also confident that Trump is enjoying hearing his name being tossed out there because he would see it as a very flattering expression of admiration. But would he actually want the job? Color me dubious. First of all, he’s a bit busy at the moment, don’t you think? He’s in full campaign mode, mostly against Joe Biden because he’s confident he has the primary wrapped up already. (And it’s hard to argue with that.) He’s also spending his days in court right now and he will be even busier once the rest of his trials kick off.
The Speaker winds up spending long nights trying to herd cats and count votes. They also have to make a lot of concessions to get anything done, as McCarthy found out the hard way. Trump is more of a guy who is used to giving orders and seeing things get done. I’ll confess that I don’t know the man personally and have never even met him, but I really think Donald Trump would absolutely hate being the Speaker before long.
But let’s just imagine for a moment that he was truly interested and some people were ready to come to the floor and nominate him. You probably recall what a momentous task it was originally to get 218 votes for Kevin McCarthy among the lower chamber’s current members. And he was supposed to be the more “middle of the road” choice. Does anyone believe there would be that many votes for Donald Trump? The Democrats would be lighting torches and hoisting pitchforks before he even walked into the chamber. There would not be a single vote for him there. And even in his own party, once you get outside of the Freedom Caucus, there are a significant number of moderates and/or RINOs who really don’t like Trump very much and wish he wouldn’t run again. They’ll be okay with him serving another term as President if he wins (or really anyone but Joe Biden), but they’re very unlikely to cast an “aye” vote for him as Speaker.
It’s probably time to get our boots back on the ground and look over the people who are offering to take McCarthy’s place since he’s apparently unwilling to go through all of that again. (I can’t really blame him.) Steve Scalise has already offered, and as Majority Leader he’s fairly well positioned. You don’t hear a lot of hatred for him among his own ranks, so it’s conceivable he could reach 218. There are a few others. But they need to find someone realistic and it needs to be soon.
