Trump says electing Emmer as speaker would be ‘tragic mistake’

Former President Donald Trump came out against Speaker Designate Tom Emmer (R-MN) shortly after the majority leader won the speaker nomination, calling on House Republicans not to vote for him on the floor.

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great warriors. RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referring to Emmer as a “Republican in Name Only.” “Voting for a globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!”

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In the post, Trump accused Emmer of “never respect[ing] the Power of a Trump endorsement,” arguing he is out of touch with GOP voters.

“I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure?” Trump wrote. “Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win? The Republican Party cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First voters are.”

The scathing statement comes one day after Trump said he would try to stay out of the House speaker’s race and not make an endorsement for any of the eight candidates. Trump and Emmer also spoke over the weekend, according to a source familiar.

However, the former president unleashed the social media tirade shortly after Emmer won the party nomination in a closed-door vote on Tuesday, during which several GOP lawmakers have already come out against his candidacy.

The public opposition also comes after several allies in Trump’s orbit have pushed against Emmer’s candidacy, citing his vote to certify President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and other instances, according to a source familiar.

Emmer won the nomination in a 117-97 vote on Tuesday against Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), giving him a slim victory over the Louisiana Republican. However, the party conducted a voice roll call to see how many lawmakers would support Emmer’s nomination, with roughly 26 Republicans saying they wouldn’t vote for him on the floor.

Emmer met with several of those holdouts after the roll call vote in an attempt to ease any concerns before Republicans are set to reconvene around 4 p.m. However, it’s not yet clear what the timeline moving forward to elect a speaker will look like.

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A handful of GOP lawmakers, such as Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), have already voiced concerns that Emmer won’t have the support needed to secure the speaker’s gavel.

“Here we are again, right back to where we started,” he said. “So now what are we going to do?”