U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy retracted his previous comments expressing doubt about former President Donald Trump's strength, stating he is stronger today than he was in 2016. In an interview with Breitbart, McCarthy said, "The only reason Biden is using his federal government to pursue President Trump is that he is Biden's strongest political opponent, as polling shows. Just look at the numbers this morning. Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016," referring to a poll by Morning Consult that showed Trump leading Biden by three percentage points, marking the first time this has happened since the start of tracking public opinion trends for the presidential election.
He stated, "As always, the media tries to create a rift between President Trump and the Republicans in the House because our committees are holding Biden's Justice Department accountable for its two-tiered levels of justice." When asked whether Trump could win the general election given the two criminal cases in which he is a defendant, McCarthy indicated that "the former president may not be the strongest contender." He added, "Can he win that election? Yes, he can. The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don't know the answer to that, but can anyone defeat Biden? Yes, anyone can defeat Biden."
Regarding whether it is beneficial for the Republican Party for Trump to be the party's nominee, McCarthy said, "Republicans should choose their candidate. I believe that if you want to move from outright politics to the politics of what is good for America, this is not good for the Republicans. Trump's policies are better than Biden's policies."
