Donald Trump’s been down so long he must forget what it’s like to be up. For months the former president, who’s never really had to pay the consequences of his actions, has been stepping on endless rakes à la Sideshow Bob. He’s been largely blamed for the GOP’s failed “red wave” at the midterms; he was caught dining with anti-Semites; his business was found guilty of fraud; his tax records were released; he nabbed a criminal referral from the Jan. 6 committee. The big guy needs a win. And now he’s at least claiming one.
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, after four days and 15 votes, Kevin McCarthy was finally elected to the Speaker of the House. McCarthy himself thanked Trump, who stumped for him from Mar-a-Lago. That was enough to inspire Trump to take a much-needed victory lap on his rinky-dink Twitter clone.
In the past hour on Truth Social, Trump has made 11 posts claiming all the credit for McCarthy’s election as Speaker.
— Ron Filipkowski
(@RonFilipkowski) January 7, 2023
Over nearly a dozen posts (or “Truths,” as they’re called over there), Trump mostly posted articles from far right joints like Fox News, Breitbart, and Newsmax, crediting him with McCarthy’s comically protracted win. He was so moved that he did what he never does: He actually thanked journalists.
“The Fake News Media was, believe it or not, very gracious in their reporting that I greatly helped Kevin McCarthy attain the position of Speaker of the House,” Trump wrote. “Thank you, I did our Country a big favor!”
It’s worth noting that Trump’s influence didn’t exactly speed up process that took so long that it turned the GOP into a laughing stock. Moreover, McCarthy’s win is perilously close to a Pyrrhic Victory. Republicans only scored a narrow majority, while a rogue faction of MAGA extremists, like Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, are bound to turn every vote into a headache. But you know what? Trump’s been a crap magnet for so long, and given all the legal and financial troubles he’s facing, his fortunes may not improve. Let’s let him have this.