Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, was briefly a candidate for Speaker of the House in 2023 as Republicans bickered over who could replace ousted Kevin McCarthy.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Emmer both looked like strong candidates during temporary stints, winning approbation from fellow GOPers in Congress only to be waylaid by Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican presidential frontrunner.
(Emmer won the GOP’s speaker nomination on the fifth round of votes behind closed doors at one point, with current House Speaker Mike Johnson far behind him in votes.)
Trump originally seemed unopposed to Emmer’s Speaker candidacy, saying he “got along with him” but that he “got along with all of them.” It was a noncomittal response from Trump that Emmer tried to turn into an endorsement, writing on X (then Twitter): “Thank you, Mr. President. If my colleagues elect me Speaker of the House, I look forward to continuing our strong working relationship.”
Then Emmer surprisingly failed to endorse Trump on the spot when asked, indicating he had other priorities at the moment.
Asked Tom Emmer if he’s supporting Trump for president: “We’re going to go in and do this forum right now and we’re gonna concentrate on the House.” He spoke Saturday with Trump, who so far is staying out of the speaker’s race.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 23, 2023
House GOP having leadership forum tonight
That failure brought swift retribution with Trump saying it would be a “tragic mistake” to make Emmer the Speaker and, according to Politico, telling a source on the phone of Emmer’s fate: “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him.” Emmer withdrew from consideration.
But Emmer, despite being called a “tragic mistake” by Trump, just endorsed Trump for President. Notably, the post is prominently featured atop @tomemmer on X, an account described as the “Campaign account of Tom Emmer (MN-06).”
That’s right, it’s Emmer’s “campaign account.” Emmer is up for re-election and the Congressman knows well what happened last time he was in line for a job and hestitated to endorse Trump while pursuing it.
We must stop Joe Biden and his failed policies. Read my full statement endorsing @realDonaldTrump for President. pic.twitter.com/qZFfCHBExA
— Tom Emmer (@tomemmer) January 3, 2024
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