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To fully appreciate the relationship between Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump, one must start with a story about, of all things, candy. In early October 2018, the then-president and then-House majority leader were sitting alone on Air Force One when the congressman noticed that Trump was enjoying two specific flavors of square-shaped Starburst candies.
The Washington Post reported soon after that McCarthy “bought a plentiful supply of Starbursts and asked a staffer to sort through the pile, placing only those two flavors in a jar. McCarthy made sure his name was on the side of the gift, which was delivered to a grinning Trump, according to a White House official.” This came on the heels of the Republican president referring to McCarthy as “my Kevin.”
The GOP congressional leader, known for having an incredible ability to forge and maintain political alliances, no doubt thought that he’d figured out how to connect with Trump on a personal level.
Almost five years to the day after McCarthy sent Trump a jar full of Starbursts, the beleaguered House speaker was facing a political crisis generated by some of his own members. The former president didn’t much seem to care and made no meaningful effort to rescue his Kevin. McCarthy lost his gavel soon after.
It was against this backdrop that Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade asked Trump last week whether Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida hurt the GOP by helping lead the fight to take down McCarthy. The former president responded:
“Well, [Gaetz] was upset that Kevin was doing a lot of the Obama work, he was working on the budget and getting something approved that, you know, we could have gotten a lot for, and the debt ceiling, everybody was hurt with that. At the same time, Kevin’s a great guy, he is a wonderful guy, but people were hurt by that.”
With McCarthy out, Trump added, Republicans might now “end up with one of the great speakers of all time, in which case Matt Gaetz did a tremendous favor.”
I won’t pretend to know why the former president referred to McCarthy having done “the Obama work” — Trump’s preoccupation with his predecessor continues to be a little creepy — but putting that aside, imagine being the ousted House speaker and hearing comments like these.
McCarthy not only spent Trump’s term trying to make him happy, the California congressman maintained those efforts even after Trump’s defeat, effectively putting the former president in the role of “shadow speaker.”
After McCarthy took the gavel in January, he celebrated Trump. After Trump’s first criminal indictment, McCarthy condemned the charges despite not knowing what they were. After Trump’s first federal criminal indictment, McCarthy was so eager to defend the former president that the then-speaker embarrassed himself with odd comments about bathroom locks.
It stands to reason that the former GOP leader thought by showing Trump such effusive loyalty, McCarthy would eventually be able to enjoy the dividends of his political investments.
Except, that’s not how things work with Trump. As others have learned over time, the former president sees loyalty as something he’s supposed to receive, not bestow.
Let this be a lesson to others in Republican politics who are counting on Trump to deliver when it counts.