A new report in the Washington Post details a tense phone call that occurred between Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and former President Donald Trump shortly after McCarthy was ousted as speaker this year.
In a phone call with Trump this past October, the former president told McCarthy that he didn't do enough to save his job from the rebellion led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) because he had failed to expunge Trump's two impeachments in the House of Representatives and had not endorsed his 2024 presidential bid.
"F--k you," McCarthy reportedly said in response.
All the same, the Post reports that McCarthy and Trump still have a working relationship, as "the two continue to speak and text."
While Trump was publicly supportive of McCarthy during his initial bid for the speakership back in January, he went silent about McCarthy's fate when Gaetz began his insurrection against the one-time GOP leader.
Gaetz hinted to reporters that he even had Trump's blessing to oust McCarthy, as he claimed that "my conversations with the former president leave me with great confidence that I’m doing the right thing."
At the same time, Trump never came out and publicly called for the ouster of McCarthy, who has focused most of his ire on the eight Republicans who joined with all House Democrats to give him the boot.
