The answer was clear when, instead of calling Trump, as he used to do when Trump was president, he is now scheduled to visit Trump in Florida on Thursday. The meeting was started by McCarthy, said a person familiar with the meeting, and is part of an effort to return to the former president’s good graces.
McCarthy was in Florida on Wednesday, where he was raising funds, as the House is out this week.
Two sources told CNN that some people warned McCarthy not to go to see Trump on Thursday. A source familiar with the matter said it made him appear weak. Another source close to McCarthy told CNN that the California Republican was told he would appear to “crawl back to Trump” and that this would further isolate him from conventional donors who wish to distance themselves from Trump.
Despite political pressure from some in the Republican Party for the party to leave Trump, McCarthy is eyeing what will bring him back to the House and possibly catapult him into the speaker. Sources told CNN that he is eager to realign himself with Trump after corporate donors – including American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Commerce Bank, Dow and Marriott – suspended PAC donations to members of Congress who opposed certifying the election. Joe Biden.
For McCarthy, the balance is between the need to appeal to Republican Party donors and the Trump base, which is still a powerful force in the party and will need to appear before the Republican Party can regain the House in two years. Not to mention that if McCarthy wants to rise to the position of speaker in two years, he will need to hold on to the Trump wing of his own conference or risk a challenge. For years, one of McCarthy’s strongest attributes as a leader has been his propensity to bring in massive fundraising for conferences. His prolific fundraising was highlighted on Wednesday by the chairman of the Republican National Congress Committee, Tom Emmer, during a private call from the Republican Party.
The rush raised doubts about McCarthy’s leadership at his conference. As much as McCarthy can’t lose support from Freedom Caucus members, he can’t lose support from members in frontline districts that could help him win back the majority.
“We are in a terrible position, as a country and as a party,” a Republican aide told CNN. “I think a lot of people are frustrated with Kevin because he is in charge of the conference.”
McCarthy stepped back from Trump’s role in the uprising recently this week, when he was criticized at his most recent press conference for saying he didn’t believe Trump “provoked” the uprising “if you hear what he said at the rally” – after saying two weeks before Trump has responsibility.
When asked in an interview on Sunday with Gray Television whether he changed his position on Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol, he said, “No, I haven’t changed that.”
“I thought the president had some responsibility for the response. If you hear what the president said at the rally, he said, ‘Demonstrate peacefully,'” he told Greta Van Susteren.
McCarthy said he is aware that there is a division in his party that he must address and that the conference plans to meet and speak freely.
“We may have differences of opinion, but I believe we will have a conference next week to expose the differences, bring individuals together and move on, to work for all Americans,” he told Fox News in an interview last week. “This is the best approach that we can take.”
This story and headline were updated with additional developments Thursday.
CNN’s Dana Bash, Jeff Zeleny, Michael Warren and Manu Raju contributed to this report.