With 9 candidates, Trump jokes only Jesus Christ could win House Speaker race

Former President Donald Trump on Monday quipped that only Jesus Christ could win the race for Speaker of the House in light of the narrow Republican majority in the lower chamber.

Since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the job in early October, the Republican conference has already shot down both Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., for the position. Nine others have since announced their candidacies. Republicans currently hold 221 seats and any candidate needs 217 to claim the gavel. Accordingly, any successful candidate can lose no more than four Republicans without gaining Democratic votes.

"That four threshold is very tough. It’s a very tough thing, no matter who it is. There’s only one person that can do it all the way. Do you know who that is? Jesus Christ," Trump told reporters in New Hampshire. "If Jesus came down and said, ‘I want to be Speaker,’ [H]e would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee it."

Trump expressed optimism that the lower chamber would ultimately resolve its leadership crisis and noted that he had spoken to nearly all of the declared candidates, for whom he largely offered supportive words. Trump endorsed Jordan's bid for speaker but has thus far declined to back any particular alternative.

His remarks on Jesus Christ follow Trump's posting on Friday an image of himself sitting in a courtroom with the Christian messianic figure at his side. Trump is currently facing four criminal indictments and multiple civil suits.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.