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Boehner: ‘There’s a lot of leaders in the Republican Party’

by Joseph Choi - 04/12/21 10:31 AM ET

Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Monday “there’s a lot of leaders in the Republican Party,” appearing to minimize the role of former President Trump in the GOP.

Appearing on “CBS This Morning” to discuss his new memoir, “On the House: A Washington Memoir,” Boehner was asked by co-host Gayle King who he considers to be the leader of the Republican Party now.

“There are a lot of leaders in the Republican Party, just like when I was there. Mitch McConnell plays a role, Kevin McCarthy plays a role. Clearly former President Trump is retired, unemployed, and appears to want to play some type of a role,” Boehner said.

WATCH: @SpeakerBoehner joins us to discuss his new book, “On the House: A Washington Memoir.” In it, he discusses the lawmakers he calls “political terrorists,” and the future of the Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/qlg5fBmkCN

— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) April 12, 2021

Co-host Anthony Mason noted that Trump had reportedly called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a “dumb son of a bitch” for accepting the election results during a recent event at Mar-a-Lago and asked Boehner how he thought such rhetoric affects the GOP.

“Well I think rhetoric that inflames people is wrong. I don’t care whether that’s from the right or from the left. It just doesn’t help our country in any way, shape or form,” Boehner said. “So Republicans need to go back to being of the principles of the Republican Party, and frankly I think the party will be much, much better off in the long run.”

Boehner also took aim at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in his book, King noted.

“This guy wasn’t even a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Senate stirring up some of the crazies of my own caucus to cause all kinds of problems. And that’s probably why I zeroed in on him, probably the only person in this book, in the way that I did,” Boehner said. “There’s nothing worse than a reckless jackass who thinks he’s smarter than everybody else.”