Mary Trump blasts Donald as “big loser” in House speaker battle

Mary Trump, niece of Donald Trump, slammed the former president as the “big loser” in congressional Republicans‘ battle to select the new House speaker on Wednesday.

House Republicans nominated Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise to represent the party. Scalise beat out Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, a favorite of MAGA Republicans and who received Trump’s endorsement, to receive the nod by a 113 to 99 vote, appealing to the party’s more moderate sector. A floor vote in the speaker race is not expected Wednesday, but it remains unclear if Scalise has enough support to reach the 217-vote required threshold.

The vote revealed that many Republicans defied Trump’s endorsement of Jordan, despite the former president remaining popular among the party’s conservative base and being the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Mary Trump, who frequently denounces her uncle, slammed him as the “loser” in the speaker battle in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

“Make no mistake. There was one BIG loser today and it wasn’t Jim Jordan. It was Donald. Donald today learned once again that his endorsement means nothing—or even better—spells doom for whoever accepts it,” she wrote.

She continued: “His grip over the Republican Party is eroding faster than his net worth. Donald is a cheap conman still charging for his cheap product, but a lot of people aren’t buying it anymore. He’s a nothing. He’s a loser.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment via email on Wednesday.

Former U.S. Representative Fred Upton, a Trump critic who for decades represented Michigan in Congress, said the vote was a “big loss” for the former president during an appearance on MSNBC.

“Trump doesn’t usually do this unless he thinks he’s going to win, so it’s a big loss for him, for sure,” Upton said.

Susan Glasser, writer for The New Yorker, posted: “Donald Trump didn’t have to endorse in the House Speaker race but he did and his guy Jim Jordan lost.”

Trump previously endorsed Jordan in a Truth Social post on Friday, writing that he would make a “GREAT Speaker of the House.”

“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District. Respected by all, he is now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump wrote.

Several of Jordan’s supporters have said they do not plan to vote for Scalise in a House floor vote.

Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado wrote in a post to X: “In conference, Jordan received 99 votes and Scalise received 113. We had a chance to unify the party behind closed doors, but the Swamp and K Street lobbyists prevented that. The American people deserve a real change in leadership, not a continuation of the status quo.”