Trump dodges calls to become House speaker: ‘We’re leading by like 50 points’

Former President Donald Trump dodged the latest calls on Wednesday by some of his most staunch allies to become the next House speaker, pointing to his sweeping lead in the polls for his 2024 presidential bid.

“We’re leading by like 50 points for president. My focus is totally on that,” Trump told reporters outside of the courtroom of his civil business fraud trial in New York City, referring to his lead among other 2024 Republican Party candidates.

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The former president’s remarks come just one day after a majority in the House voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the coveted role, marking the first time in history for a successful motion to vacate the speaker.

“A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party,” Trump said. However, he did say, “If I can help them during the process, I would do it,” appearing to refer to the process of nominating the next House speaker.

Shortly after McCarthy was ousted on Tuesday, some allies of the former president began to make calls for Trump to assume the post, including Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX).

Trump’s comments signal a slight change from his remarks over the weekend when he signaled he wouldn’t weigh directly on the Capitol Hill showdown. During a campaign stop in Iowa on Sunday, he said he “always had a great relationship” with McCarthy.

The former president currently holds about a 42-point lead above all of his Republican primary opponents and is currently averaging about 1.2 percentage points above President Joe Biden, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Wednesday marked Trump’s third day at the New York Supreme Court building as he is undergoing a civil fraud trial where the attorney general is seeking $250 million and additional penalties for his alleged over-inflation of his asset values.

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The presiding judge in the trial issued a narrow gag order on Trump on Tuesday after he made a post that targeted one of his court staff members.

“It is the beginning of communism in our country. This is the beginning of communism. So we are going back in, playing the game, doing everything right,” Trump said before entering the courtroom.