Trump jokes only Jesus Christ could become Speaker

Former President Trump joked Monday that only Jesus Christ could secure enough support from House Republicans to win the speakership.

Speaking to a group of reporters in New Hampshire, Trump stressed the difficulty of the four-vote threshold — the maximum number of House Republicans candidates can afford to lose in a floor vote while still winning the Speaker’s gavel.

“That four threshold is very tough. It’s a very tough thing, no matter who it is,” Trump said. “There’s only one person that can do it all the way. Do you know who that is? Jesus Christ.”

“If Jesus came down and said, ‘I want to be Speaker,’ he would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee it,” Trump continued.

Trump, who is the 2024 GOP front-runner, refrained from endorsing any Speaker candidate, instead praising all of them as “terrific people” and saying he has spoken to nearly all of them.

“Something’s going to happen. It’ll be positive. It’ll end up working well. I’m staying above it,” Trump said. “I have to, right now.”

“But I’ve spoken to just about all the candidates, quite a few of them, and they’re terrific people,” he added.

Trump’s approach marks a shift from his strategy last week, when he backed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for Speaker. On Friday, however, House Republicans voted to abandon Jordan’s nomination.

Republicans plan to meet Monday evening to narrow down the lengthy list of candidates to become the next GOP Speaker nominee. As House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has floated to the top of the likely candidate list, questions have arisen about his past occasional criticism of Trump and his vote to certify the 2020 election results.

Trump was asked about his relationship with Emmer in New Hampshire on Monday.

“Well, I think he’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and he told me, ‘I’m your biggest fan,’ so I don’t know about that,” Trump said.

“We’re looking at a lot of people you know, sort of trying to stay out of that as much as possible. But they’ll get it straightened out,” he added. “But no, I’ve always gotten along with him, and I get along with all of them really. A lot of good people. We have a lot of great people.”

Emmer welcomed Trump’s remarks Monday.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Emmer said in response to the clip in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“If my colleagues elect me Speaker of the House, I look forward to continuing our strong working relationship,” Emmer wrote.

Monday marks the end of the third week that the House of Representatives has not had a Speaker. On Oct. 3, eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and, since then, Republicans have failed to put forward a candidate that could get 217 votes in the House.