House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California questioned whether former President Donald Trump is the strongest presidential candidate in 2024 during a Tuesday appearance on CNBC.
“Can he win that election? Yeah, he can. The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don’t know that answer,” McCarthy said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Though McCarthy has yet to endorse a Republican primary candidate, he has remained an ally of the former president post-indictments, and even sought his advice during the debt ceiling negotiations. McCarthy argued that Trump can beat President Joe Biden in the general election.
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“Can Trump beat Biden? Yeah, he can beat Biden,” McCarthy said. “The Republicans get to select their nominee. I think if you want to go sheer policy to policy, it’s not [just] good for Republicans, it’s good for America. Trump’s policies are better, [more] straightforward, than Biden’s policies.”
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The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for a 2024 general election head-to-head between Trump and the president, based on polls conducted in June, indicates that the former president narrowly leads Biden by 0.2 points. The RCP average for a matchup between Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggests the president is ahead by 1 point.
The RCP average for a 2024 national Republican primary indicates that Trump is leading a crowded field of candidates by roughly 30 points, followed by DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 21.5%, 5.8% and 3.6%, respectively.
Along with the four frontrunners, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative radio personality Larry Elder are all vying for the Republican nomination.
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