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McCarthy Struggles to Manage Trump

March 5, 2021 · 6:44 am ET · Leave a Comment

Playbook: “After Kevin McCarthy visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in late January, the House minority leader released a picture of the two men smiling side by side. The image — accompanied by a statement announcing Trump had ‘committed’ to helping the GOP flip the lower chamber — suggested all was well between the House GOP and the ex-president.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Sources tell Playbook that McCarthy has been trying to persuade Trump not to seek revenge against 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the former president — members who could be critical to McCarthy’s bid to retake the House and become speaker.”

“Not only has Trump refused to commit, he has publicly repeated his vow to primary those incumbents.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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