(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) In an interview with Just the News about his plans to retake the White House, rein in inflation, calm international tensions and stop illegal immigration, former President Donald Trump reiterated that becoming House speaker does not interest him.
Several prominent Republicans, including Steve Bannon and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, have floated the idea that Trump use the speakership to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda after the 2022 midterm elections.
Such a plan would put him third in line for the presidency should both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris become unable to lead due to personal circumstances, abdication, impeachment or invocation of the 25th amendment.
Although the speaker customarily is chosen from among the body’s elected representatives, nothing in the Constitution or House rules stipulates that this must be the case.
Despite having said previously that he was intrigued by the idea, Trump rejected the appeal from his fellow MAGA loyalists.
“It’s not something I want,” Trump said Tuesday on Real America’s Voice.
“A lot of people bring it up,” he contiuned. “It’s brought up all the time. It’s not something I would be interested in,” he reiterated.
While he does not plan to serve in Congress, Trump said in the interview that it was “vital” for Republicans to win at least one chamber back from the Democrats in order to slow Biden’s destruction of the United States.
“When I watch to see what’s happening, it’s very, very sad,” he said.
“I mean, our country is being destroyed by these people,” he added. “The border is a disaster. We’re no longer respected. They don’t respect our leader at all. They don’t respect Biden at all.”
Trump said the United States no longer has a “free press” or “free speech”—likely having in mind the Justice Department’s illegal raid on Project Veritas and incarceration of Jan. 6 political dissidents, the corporate media’s one-sided coverage, and Big Tech’s censorship.
He hit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., almost as hard as Biden because the seven-term senator let Democrats pass Biden’s so-called infrastructure bill with bipartisan support, as well as a pork-laden ominbus spending bill. Both bills add additional trillions in debt to America’s beleaguered economy.
“I think the Senate is hurt badly by Mitch McConnell, very badly,” Trump said. “I think he’s terrible. He’s also terrible for our country.”
