Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday said people are giving him “a lot of credit” for House Majority Kevin McCarthy’s shocking decision to withdraw his name from contention to be the next House speaker.
“You know, Kevin McCarthy is out - you know that, right?” Mr. Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas, to some cheers. “And they’re giving me a lot of credit for that, because I said you really need somebody very, very tough and very smart.”
“I know tough people, they’re not smart - that’s the worst, okay? That’s the worst,” he said. “You got to be smart. But we need smart, we need tough - we need the whole package.”
Mr. Trump said “it’s bedlam in Washington right now.”
“Bedlam - it’s a mess. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
Mr. Trump also said Mr. McCarthy is a “nice guy,” and went on to advocate for using the looming debt ceiling deadline to “do something really, really significant.”
The Treasury Department says Congress must increase the country’s debt limit by about Nov. 5 or risk a default on its obligations.
“We’re in a big, fat, beautiful bubble right now, and you watch, and I predicted the last couple, and I’m telling you - we’ve got to get our act together or we’re going to be Greece on steroids - that’s what’s going to happen,” he said.
“There’s nothing wrong with the Republicans taking a tough stance and sticking with it,” Mr. Trump said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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