US President-elect Donald Trump watches Turning Point USA’s America Fest held at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Rebecca Noble | Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump said he would attend the state funeral for former US President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at the age of 100, next week and predicted that House Speaker Mike Johnson would be the only person who could get the vote for the top House job.
While attending a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, home on Tuesday, President Trump asked reporters if he planned to attend Carter’s funeral on January 9 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. I was asked if I could.
Trump declined to say whether he had spoken to Carter’s family after his death, saying, “We will participate. We were invited.”
At a black-tie celebration attended by billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz and other supporters, Trump also did not follow Trump’s lead and instead spoke to House Speaker Johnson. He was asked what message he would give to Republicans who do not support re-election.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to elect a speaker on Friday after the new parliament is sworn in. President Trump’s endorsement of Johnson on Monday was seen as key to Johnson’s hopes of retaining the post he took up in October 2023.
But 34 Republicans voted against Johnson’s stopgap funding bill in December, raising questions about whether he will struggle to muster enough support for re-election. occurred.
“I think they will support Chairman Johnson,” Trump told reporters. “Right now he’s the one to win. Almost everyone likes him. The other players are also very good, but there are 30 or 40 people who don’t like them.”
