Trump helped tank Emmer, Scalise speakership bids. Now they’re endorsing him for president
Written by ABC AUDIO on January 4, 2024
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday earned an endorsement from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer — whom Trump called a “Globalist RINO” who is “totally out-of-touch” with Republican voters, effectively tanking Emmer’s speakership bid in October.
Emmer said Wednesday that it’s time for the GOP to unite behind Trump.
“Democrats have made clear they will use every tool in their arsenal to try and keep Joe Biden and his failed policies in power. We cannot let them. It’s time for Republicans to unite behind our party’s clear frontrunner, which is why I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President,” Emmer wrote on X.
During October’s chaotic speaker battle following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Emmer was among the House GOP leaders who threw his hat in the ring for the House’s top job. However, Trump posted on his social media platform that “voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”
Emmer’s endorsement came a day after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise backed the former president. When Scalise ran for the open speaker job in October, Trump snubbed him — instead backing House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan. Scalise took the nomination over Jordan in a secret ballot.
Trump later helped sink Scalise’s speakership bid after he questioned his health, bringing up Scalise’s cancer diagnosis.
Scalise said Tuesday he was “proud” to support the former president.
“I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024, and I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican House and Senate to fight for those families who are struggling under the weight of Biden’s failed policies,” Scalise posted on X.
With endorsements from Emmer and Scalise, Trump now has the backing of all top four House Republican leaders. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik have already endorsed the former president in his 2024 White House bid.
Johnson and Stefanik have been vocal Trump supporters and were among the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Johnson also led the charge to get 125 of his Republican colleagues — including Stefanik — to sign an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, supporting Texas’ lawsuit that would have invalidated the election results in key battleground states.
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