Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) cursed out former President Trump in the wake of his removal as Speaker in October, after the former president refused to come to his aid and denounce the removal efforts, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
After Trump gave McCarthy a list of reasons why he didn’t support the former Speaker in a phone call, McCarthy let loose, the Post report said.
“F‑‑‑ you,” he told Trump, according to two sources McCarthy told about the conversation, the Post reported.
McCarthy previously stood by the former president, pledging his support after multiple criminal indictments and even visiting him in Florida to console the former president after a 2020 election loss.
That visit resulted in a photo of the pair smiling, which garnered criticism of McCarthy for supporting Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
He later told former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a harsh Trump critic, that he was drawn to Florida out of concern for Trump because he was told “Trump’s not eating,” Cheney said in her new book.
Trump did not offer support for McCarthy when he was ousted from the Speakership earlier this fall.
Trump ended up explicitly endorsing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the job, though he could not gather enough votes to be named Speaker.
McCarthy brushed off the slight at the time.
“Only members vote,” McCarthy told reporters when asked for his opinion on Trump, days before his ouster. “I think the members can sit down and they can make the decision.”
McCarthy has not endorsed a 2024 presidential candidate, but planned to endorse Trump near Iowa in the coming months, the Post reported.